NFL: Dolphins lose to Colts with game within their grasp

Now that the Dolphins finally have learned how to survive on the road, they suddenly have forgotten how to win at Pro Player Stadium. The Dolphins' Miami blues continued Sunday with a 23-17 loss to the Indianapolis Colts.

The Dolphins, who went 7-1 at Pro Player Stadium each of the last two regular seasons, have won just one of their first four home games this year. The Dolphins haven't started this poorly at home since the 1968 team went 0-3-1 in its opening four games at the Orange Bowl.

"I don't know that the reason is for it and I don't have any explanation for it," Dolphins cornerback Patrick Surtain said. "But we're going to have to start playing well at home if we want to have home-field advantage in the playoffs."

Or if they want to make the playoffs at all. Sunday's loss dropped the Dolphins a full game behind the AFC East-leading New England Patriots (6-2), who play at Denver tonight.

It looked like the Dolphins might end their home frustration in dramatic fashion Sunday as they nearly rallied from a 23-14 deficit in the last five minutes.Terrell Buckley forced two fourth-quarter turnovers -- a fumble that led to Olindo Mare's 23-yard field goal and an interception that gave Miami the ball at the Colts' 15-yard line with 2:45 left in the game.

The comeback ended when Dwight Freeney capped a huge performance with the biggest play of the day.

The Indianapolis defensive end beat Dolphins rookie left tackle Wade Smith, then hit Dolphins quarterback Brian Griese from behind to knock the ball loose. Defensive end Raheem Brock recovered the fumble at the Colts' 23-yard line to seal the victory with 1:55 remaining.

"Someone had to step up and my team needed me," said Freeney, who had three sacks and forced two fumbles. "I went through my key progression while I was going. When I saw a little opening, I hit it and that was it."

Griese, replacing the injured Jay Fiedler for the second straight week, couldn't duplicate his sensational Dolphins debut performance from Monday night's 26-10 victory over the San Diego Chargers. Griese went 18-of-29 for 231 yards with a touchdown, but he also lost two fumbles.

Griese said he never saw Freeney coming on the game-clinching play.

"It's hard to have eyes in the back of your head," Griese said. "Whenever we lose a game, I look at myself critically and say, 'What could I have done better? What throws could I have made? What decisions could I have made better to help us offensively?' So I'm going to go home and watch film and see what I could have done better."

The Dolphins still nearly stole a game that Indianapolis had controlled for most of the day.

After three Mike Vanderjagt field goals gave the Colts a 9-7 halftime lead, Indianapolis (7-1) extended the margin with two long touchdown drives.

Edgerrin James' 1-yard touchdown capped an 11-play, 74-yard march that included two big third-down conversions. Peyton Manning threw a screen to Dominic Rhodes that produced a 27-yard gain on third-and-16, then a flea flicker resulted in a 30-yard completion to Marvin Harrison on third-and-2.

Griese answered midway through the third quarter with a 28-yard touchdown pass to Chris Chambers -- the Dolphins' first completion to a wide receiver all day. The Colts responded with a 91-yard drive that ended when Manning threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to Troy Walters with 9:40 left in the game.

"They had some long drives on our defense," Dolphins linebacker Zach Thomas said. "You can't win like that. You've got to make tackles."

Although the Dolphins' defense struggled for much of the second half, they nearly made up for it in the last five minutes.

Indianapolis was attempting to run even more time off the clock when Manning threw a 5-yard pass to Harrison on third-and-6 from the Miami 46. Dolphins strong safety Arturo Freeman stripped the ball from Harrison and Buckley recovered the fumble.

Buckley then lost the ball himself, but Freeman pounced on it to allow the Dolphins to retain possession.

Griese went 5-of-6 for 54 yards on the ensuing drive, allowing Mare to cut the lead to 23-17 with 3:10 remaining.

Buckley continued to show a flair for the dramatic on the Colts' next series.

After Indianapolis offensive tackle Tarik Glenn committed a false start on third-and-2 from the Indianapolis 24, Buckley noticed the Colts were lining up in a similar formation before the next snap. Buckley guessed that the Colts would run the same play that had been nullified by the penalty.

Buckley's gamble paid off when he stepped in front of a screen to Reggie Wayne and made the interception at the Colts' 15 with 2:50 remaining.

"It was late and we were trying to run the clock and get a sure-fire completion, and Buckley just played it well," said Manning, who went 23-of-37 for 266 yards. "He's been burned doing it, just trying to make a play, but today he made the play."

Freeney made an even bigger play shortly thereafter. And that's why the Dolphins had to watch an opposing team celebrate on their home field for the third time this season.

"We have to play well no matter if it's at home, away, at your house, in my back yard, anywhere," Buckley said. "The name of the game in this league is getting a 'W.' And right now, we're more than angry. We're disappointed."