Miami Dolphins quarterback Chad Pennington is the NFL all-time career leader in pass completion percentage (66.0% for all quarterbacks with a minimum for 1500 pass attempts).  But it was an incompletion that made all the difference. 

The Indianapolis Colts defeated the Miami Dolphins, 27-23.  The Colts won this game despite being dominated in time of possession, as they only had the ball for 14:53 on the entire contest.  However, it was their big play capability that allowed them to come away with tonight’s victory.

From an offensive perspective, this matchup was predicted to be a tale of two playbooks.  Those predictions couldn’t have been any more accurate. 

The Indianapolis Colts, symbolized by their remarkable quarterback – NFL MVP Peyton Manning – specialize in an aggressive passing game.  Although they lost cornerstone wide receiver Marvin Harrison in the off-season, the Colts didn’t figure to miss a beat.  Their offensive success is primarily based upon the game management of Manning. 

Ronnie Brown gave Indianapolis' defense fits all night.

To the contrary, the Miami Dolphins – famed for effectively integrating the Wildcat formation back into the NFL – let their rushing attack set the groundwork for any offensive success that they have.  Their attack is led by a 1-2 running punch which features Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams.  And QB Chad Pennington penchant for completing passes helps keep the chains moving.

So, on this installment of Monday Night Football, it was no surprise to see a game that came down to the wire.  Each team stuck to its game plan, and executed it to perfection.

True to their mantra, the Colts struck quick and fast.  They averaged 12 yards per play thanks to Manning, who called audibles on several plays which led to big yardage for the visiting team. 

The Dolphins rushed for 239 yards (their most in over 7 years).  Their line was totally dominant and opened up big holes even thought they have no big-play capability from a passing perspective.  The Miami wildcat formation was extremely effective in this game, as the home team gained big chunks of yardage when Ronnie Brown received the direct snap.

But in the 4th quarter, it was Peyton who engineered a quick drive to put the Colts up 27-23…leaving about 3 minutes on the game clock.  For the average NFL team, that would be enough time to muster up a drive to put the ball in the end-zone.  For the Dolphins, it required them to attempt something that they aren’t too familiar with – pass the ball for big plays.

They were able to get themslevesinto position to have a few attempts at a game-winning touchdown.  With about 20 seconds left in the 4th quarter, Pennington softly laid up a 40 yard bomb, attempting to connect with Ted Ginn, Jr. for the potential go-ahead score.  Ginn, Jr. (who was covered one-on-one) elevated and had the football go off of both of his hands for an incompletion.  Finally, on a last-ditch 4th down hail-mary, Pennington’s pass was intercepted by a Colts secondary that didn’t have to cover against many deep pass plays.

This game proved that there are times were style is indeed more important than substance.