Manning leads Colts past Dolphins, 27-23

September 22, 2009, 7:12pm
Indianapolis Colts cornerback Melvin Bullitt (right) and safety Antoine Bethea (left) take down Miami Dolphins running back Patrick Cobbs during their NFL game on Tuesday in Miami. The Colts won, 27-23. (AP)
Indianapolis Colts cornerback Melvin Bullitt (right) and safety Antoine Bethea (left) take down Miami Dolphins running back Patrick Cobbs during their NFL game on Tuesday in Miami. The Colts won, 27-23. (AP)

MIAMI (AP) — Peyton Manning threw two touchdown passes as the Indianapolis Colts won 27-23 Monday night to take some sheen off the Miami Dolphins' glitzy makeover under new owner Stephen Ross.

The Dolphins rolled out an orange carpet for the pre-game arrival of Ross' celebrity partners. The crowd included Serena and Venus Williams, Gloria and Emilio Estefan, Marc Anthony and Jennifer Lopez, Jimmy Buffett, and Colts fan Tiger Woods.

But Manning stole the show with touchdown passes of 80 yards to Dallas Clark and 48 yards to Pierre Garcon.

The first came on the first play from scrimmage, the latter with 3:18 left for the game's final points.

Manning finished 14 for 23 for 303 yards as the Colts won for the second time this season. The Dolphins dropped their second straight match even though they had 239 yards rushing.

Indianapolis had the ball for only 14:53, the lowest time of possession for a winning team in the NFL since 1977.

Indy trailed 10-7, 13-10 and 20-13, but each time pulled even.

Down 23-20 after Miami scored with 3:50 left, the Colts rallied one more time.

Manning threw completions of 15 and 17 yards, then hit Garcon with a short pass on the right side. Garcon cut to the middle, then broke back toward the corner of the end zone to score.

Miami reached the Colts 30-yard line with 6 seconds left, but Chad Pennington's desperation pass was intercepted in the end zone by Antoine Bethea.

The Dolphins were 15 for 21 on third-down conversions, punted once, didn't commit a turnover until the final play and controlled the ball for a team-record 45 minutes. They had to wonder how they lost.

The answer: Manning. He earned his 119th victory with the Colts, breaking the team record for a quarterback he shared with Johnny Unitas.

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Indianapolis Colts cornerback Melvin Bullitt (right) and safety Antoine Bethea (left) take down Miami Dolphins running back Patrick Cobbs during their NFL game on Tuesday in Miami. The Colts won, 27-23. (AP)20.1 KB