The Colts' Week 10 game against the Miami Dolphins was, in a sense, a battle between two teams undergoing youth movements.
And on Sunday, the Colts' youngsters – including running back Seth McGowan, linebacker CJ Allen and cornerback Justin Walley – delivered the plays necessary to stop their team's losing skid and beat the Dolphins, 24-22, at Lucas Oil Stadium.
McGowan rumbled for 77 yards on a dozen carries with a touchdown, Allen stuffed the stat sheet with nine tackles, a sack, two tackles for a loss and a pass break-up and Walley had a touchdown-generating strip-sack plus two tackles for a loss and two pass break-ups.
More acutely, Allen's sack of Dolphins quarterback Kyle McCord knocked Miami out of range to attempt a go-ahead field goal after the two-minute warning. On the next play, McCord's pass was knocked down by second-year defensive end Jaylahn Tuimoloau, forcing a turnover on downs. McGowan then ended the game with an eight-yard rush and then a four-yard gain on second and two, allowing the Colts to go into victory formation.
For these recently-drafted Colts players, there's something there when it comes to making these type of game-deciding plays.
"I think just us making plays out there, it gives us the confidence, even though we may be young, to just to out there and play football," Tuimoloau said. "It's the same game we played when we were young, having fun and enjoying it. There's no better way to do it but on the biggest stage."
It wasn't all rookies who stepped up on Sunday, of course.
Some highlights: defensive tackle Grover Stewart knocked down three passes, which tied him with four other players (including Tuimoloau, who had three in Week 6) for the most by a defensive lineman in a game this season. Fellow defensive tackle Adetomiwa Adebawore – who's still a young player, of course – fell on the fumble Walley forced in the end zone for a touchdown. Running back Jonathan Taylor led the Colts with 83 yards on 16 carries. Wide receiver Ashton Dulin had a 30-yard catch-and-run that sparked a scoring drive, which ended in wide receiver Laquon Treadwell scoring his first touchdown since 2021.
But make no mistake, when the Colts needed plays to win a game, it was guys like Allen, Walley, McGowan and Tuimoloau who stepped up.
"We got the job done, and obviously a lot to improve on," McGowan said. "That's the main thing I'm looking forward to."
The Colts certainly need to improve on how many penalties they had – a "terrible," head coach Shane Steichen said, total of 13. This wasn't a particularly pretty game, with Miami averaging -.201 EPA per play and the Colts averaging -.241 EPA per play. Once again, the Colts did not win the turnover battle, with the Dolphins recording two interceptions of quarterback Daniel Jones and the Colts' only takeaway being Walley's strip sack.
But the reality is, for those young guys in the Colts' locker room, a win matters. And, specifically, a win in which they collectively made several big-time plays can be an important momentum builder for the final half of the 2026 season.
