INDIANAPOLIS _ The Colts needed 10 yards. The Dolphins only gave them eight.
And as a result, the Miami Dolphins officially have a winning streak.
The Dolphins tackled Eric Ebron two yards short of the sticks on fourth down, getting off the field one last time and preserving a 16-12 victory over the Colts.
Good news, right?
Not if your goal is landing the best available quarterback. With back-to-back wins, the Dolphins fell two games "behind" the Bengals for the No. 1 pick.
But Brian Flores and Ryan Fitzpatrick couldn't care less.
They did just enough to win _ beating the Colts and even the officials.
After Nik Needham recorded the Dolphins' third interception of Brian Hoyer, Fitzpatrick ran back onto the field. But the refs stopped him, concerned about a possible concussion after taking a vicious, unflagged helmet-to-helmet hit by Grover Stewart on the previous drive.
That meant Josh Rosen had to enter the game, and Flores didn't let him throw once. Three straight runs set up Jason Sanders' third long field goal of the day and gave the Colts one last shot.
But the drive stalled inside the Dolphins' 10, and the game was over.
The Dolphins managed to win with just 229 yards of offense.
But the turnovers were key. The Dolphins converted two Hoyer interceptions into 10 points, including an 11-yard touchdown run by Ryan Fitzpatrick.
The defense was excellent, limiting the Colt to 108 yards of offense and just 2.5 yards per carry before the break.
That changed somewhat in the third quarter, when the Colts went on a 10-play drive that traveled 56 yards, but the Dolphins stiffened once Indy reached the red zone. Jomal Wiltz broke up a third-down pass to Nyheim Hines, and the Colts had to settle for a field goal.
Indianapolis whittled away at the lead a bit more with another field goal late in the third quarter, which saw just 12 yards by the Dolphins and zero first downs. But on the first play of the fourth, Fitzpatrick threw a pick directly to Darius Leonard, putting the Colts in business.
Seven plays later, the Colts were in the end zone, courtesy of a one-yard pass from Hoyer to Jack Doyle.
The Colts would have gone up three, put Adam Vinatieri missed his sixth extra point of the season. That forced the Colts to go the length of the field for a touchdown to win late. They came up short.
