Alongside the Denver Broncos and New England Patriots, the Indianapolis Colts were supposed to be the class of the AFC this year. They were expected to compete with the best teams in a bid for the top seed in the playoffs and, if all went as planned, a spot in the Super Bowl. Andrew Luck has been a first-rate quarterback since the Colts took him No. 1 overall and he made them into an elite team. This season, however, has been anything but elite.
Colts vs. Dolphins 2015 live stream: Game time, TV schedule and how to watch online
The Colts are fighting for the AFC South lead and will face the Dolphins on Sunday.
Luck has been banged up all season and has played in just seven games. Indianapolis now holds a 6-8 record, second in the AFC South behind the Houston Texans with two crucial games remaining on the schedule. The Colts will take on the Miami Dolphins on Sunday, and will then face the Tennessee Titans in Week 17.
No teams in the AFC South are fighting for a wild card spot at this point, so the division leader will be the only representative in the playoffs. The Texans sit at 7-7 after a win over the Colts in Week 15. It was a close game, but it was the third loss in a row for the Colts, who look completely lost with Matt Hasselbeck at quarterback.
Relief is nowhere in sight, either. Even if Luck were recovered from his injuries and able to return for the first time since he sustained a lacerated kidney in Week 9 against the Broncos, he wasn’t playing his best football before he went down with the injury. He was throwing more interceptions than usual and the Colts weren’t winning much with him under center.
Hasselbeck, now the oldest starting quarterback in the NFL, is also hurting, but he is still expected to be the man starting when the Colts take on the Dolphins. The Colts are trying to avoid their longest losing skid in four years.
They may be in luck, as the 5-9 Dolphins have also floundered this season. Miami has already been eliminated from playoff contention, and really only has draft positioning to consider when it comes to the future.
The Dolphins have lost four of their last five games. In their last four games, they have allowed 30-plus points three times and been outscored 112-73 in total. It's been a rough year overall for them, as head coach Joe Philbin was fired just four games into the season. Dan Campbell rallied the Dolphins for a pair of wins in his first two games as interim head coach, but the Dolphins have gone 2-6 since those wins.
On paper, this matchup isn’t actually that slanted, though. The Dolphins rank 29th in the league in total offense, while the Colts don’t fare much better ranking 26th. On the other side of the ball, both teams have had serious issues. Miami ranks third-worst in the league in total defense, while the Colts find themselves ranked 27th in the same category.
The Colts have more to play for on Sunday, but the Dolphins have fared well against AFC South teams this year. They lost a close 23-20 contest to the Jaguars, but destroyed both the Texans and Titans earlier this season.
How to watch
When: 1 p.m. ET
Where: Sun Life Stadium, Miami
TV: FOX
Commentators: Dick Stockton, David Diehl
Online: Verizon NFL Mobile
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