by Hamlet Pericles

Created on: September 23, 2009

Winning time of possession is one formula that produces wins in the NFL, but that formula did not work in the Miami Dolphins' favor on Monday night. The disparity in time of possession was greatly lopsided: Miami Dolphins had the ball for more than 45 minutes, while Indianapolis Colts had the ball for less than 15 minutes.

Miami's game plan was well executed - because they played a very controlled game - but could not come away with a win at home, losing to the Colts 27-to-23.

Land Shark Stadium attracted several stars (Tiger Woods, Jennifer Lopez and Mark Anthony, Venus and Serena Williams, Gloria and Emilio Estefan, and Jimmy Buffet), but the real star of the night was Colts' quarterback Peyton Manning. He didn't throw the ball a lot, but when he did air the ball - he caused damage.

On the first offensive play of the game, Manning completed a pass down the middle to tight end Dallas Clark, and he did the rest, breaking one tackle and taking it into the end zone. It was an 80-yard touchdown pass by Manning.

Miami's first offensive drive also led to a touchdown, but it was not in a quick-striking fashion but rather a slow and calculated drive, mixed some wildcat and short passes. Eventually, the wildcat earned Dolphins a touchdown through a 14-yard run by running back Ronnie Brown. This 9-play drive occupied 6 minutes and 6 seconds.

The first quarter ended in a 7-7 tie.

In the second quarter, the Dolphins' second offensive possession was similar to their first - slow, calculated but effective enough to put some points on the scoreboard.

On Indianapolis' 28-yard line, the Dolphins had a couple of chances to score a touchdown, but the receivers could not come down with the ball: the first play occurred when quarterback Chad Pennington threw a deep middle pass to tight end Anthony Fasano and he dropped it; the second play was a deep pass thrown by Pennington to speedster Ted Ginn Jr. deep right in the back of the end zone and he misread the ball, causing an incompletion.

Kicker Dan Carpenter connected for a 45-yard field goal, giving the Dolphins a 10-to-7 lead. This drive occupied 7 minutes and 24 seconds.

On the Colts' third possession, Manning marched his offense down the field quickly, getting two first downs on their first two plays. With a few more plays, the Colts made their way to the Dolphins' 25-yard line, which resulted in a 43-yard field goal by kicker Adam Vinatieri to even the game at 10.

The Dolphins' following possession started well as they converted

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