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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
MIAMI (AP) -- Lamar Smith carried the ball an NFL-record 40
times. He carried cornerback Jeff Burris into the end zone for the
winning score in overtime.
|  | | Miami's Lamar Smith celebrates his winning 17-yard touchdown run. |
And when jubilant Miami coach Dave Wannstedt jumped on his back
as they headed for the locker room, Smith carried him, too.
Smith rushed for 209 yards, including a 17-yard touchdown run in
overtime, and the resilient Dolphins rallied past the Indianapolis
Colts 23-17 in an AFC wild-card playoff game Saturday.
"Everyone got their money's worth," Wannstedt said.
Jay Fiedler overcame three first-half interceptions to lead a
comeback from a 14-point deficit in the second half, and Miami tied
the game in the final minute of regulation.
The surprising Dolphins (12-5), AFC East champions for the first
time since 1994, advanced to the second round Saturday at Oakland.
The Colts (10-7) were eliminated in their opening playoff game for
the second year in a row, and coach Jim Mora fell to 0-6 in the
postseason.
Smith's 40 carries were a league playoff record, and his 209
yards ranked second in postseason history behind Eric Dickerson's
248 for the Los Angeles Rams against Dallas in 1985.
"I'm just happy to be part of the victory," Smith said. "We
had to overcome a lot of obstacles."
The Dolphins were lucky, too: Indianapolis' Mike Vanderjagt made
three field goals, but pushed a 49-yard attempt wide right 5:44
into overtime. He then went to the bench and buried his head in his
hands while the Dolphins drove for the winning score.
"I let my teammates down, I let the organization down, I let
the city of Indianapolis down," Vanderjagt said. "It's a pretty
big burden to carry into the offseason, but nothing can change that
now."
Miami marched 61 yards in 11 plays for the victory, with Smith
carrying six times and catching a pass to account for 40 yards. On
second-and-4 at the 17, he started inside, bounced outside, cut
back and ran through Burris.
The touchdown put the Colts behind for the first time.
"Once Lamar got to the 10, I said, `They're in trouble,"'
guard Mark Dixon said.
Teammates rushed to the corner of the field to swarm Smith, a
30-year-old journeyman and a native of Fort Wayne, Ind. He was
released by two teams before becoming a 1,000-yard rusher in Miami
this season.
The defeat was a stunner for the Colts, who came into the
playoffs with three consecutive wins.
"Everybody is just frustrated," said Peyton Manning, who threw
for Indy's lone touchdown. "Looking back at it now, there were
just a lot of missed opportunities. We got field goals and didn't
get touchdowns."
Mora, at 65 the league's oldest active coach, remained the only
coach in history with at least 100 regular-season wins and no wins
in the postseason.
"I don't feel snakebit at all," Mora said moments after his
14th NFL season ended. "There is no such thing as being snakebit.
You either get it done or you don't, and we didn't."
The Dolphins' defense kept the game close by containing the
dangerous trio of Manning, Edgerrin James and Marvin Harrison.
Fiedler, meanwhile, shook off three first-half interceptions that
led to 11 points.
"It was just an amazing comeback," Fiedler said. "The rush of
elation and adrenalin was unbelievable."
The Dolphins forced the overtime by scoring with 34 seconds left
in regulation. They started at their own 20 with 4:48 to go
trailing 17-10, and Fiedler directed a 14-play drive that
culminated with his 9-yard touchdown pass to backup tight end Jed
Weaver on third-and-goal.
The Dolphins got back in the game at the start of the second
half with a 70-yard drive capped by Smith's 2-yard touchdown run.
In the fourth quarter, he broke Larry Csonka's team postseason
record of 145 yards rushing set in the 1974 Super Bowl.
Olindo Mare's 38-yard field goal with 10:23 left made it 14-10.
Vanderjagt hit a 50-yarder with 4:55 remaining.
Mora, plagued in past playoff losses by questionable decisions
that backfired, made another one while leading 3-0. The Colts faked
a 45-yard field goal, and holder Hunter Smith was thrown for a
6-yard loss trying to run for the first down.
Jerome Pathon dropped a potential 8-yard touchdown pass in the
second quarter, and the Colts had to settle for a field goal.
Pathon later beat Pro Bowl cornerback Sam Madison to catch
Manning's 17-yard touchdown pass for a 14-0 lead.
It didn't hold up.
"This game shows the character of our team," Dolphins Pro Bowl
defensive end Jason Taylor said. "It's not the ideal way to do
things. We don't want to be known as the comeback kids. But nothing
comes easily for us."
Game notes
The overtime was the first for the Dolphins in the playoffs
since 1982 against San Diego, and the Colts' first since 1977
against Oakland. ... The game was the first NFL playoff game since
1993 to be blacked out, but it finally sold out Saturday. The crowd
totaled 73,193. ... Fiedler, a graduate of Dartmouth, became the
first Ivy Leaguer to start a playoff game at quarterback since
fellow Dartmouth alum Jeff Kemp started for the Rams in 1984. ...
Hall of Fame coach Don Shula was an honorary captain for the
Dolphins and participated in the pregame coin toss.
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ALSO SEE
NFL Scoreboard
Indianapolis Clubhouse
Miami Clubhouse
Clayton: Smith does some heavy lifting
Mora's decisions go awry in loss
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Lamar Smith had confidence in the Dolphins' defense, and made plays in the second half.
wav: 115 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Jay Fiedler and the Dolphins overcame a bad first half to win in OT.
wav: 259 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Dave Wannstedt feels his team played as hard today as they have all year.
wav: 125 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Mike Vanderjagt feels he let his team down by missing the 49-yard field goal attempt in overtime.
wav: 81 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Jim Mora feels the team should have won against the Dolphins.
wav: 152 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
FROM
ATHLETESDIRECT
Peyton Manning Official Site
Edgerrin James Official Site
Marvin Harrison Official Site
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