What stood out in the first half of the Miami Dolphins’ Week 7 game against the Indianapolis Colts?

We’ll start with the inactive list, highlighted by a number of defensive starters who are out due to injuries:

CB Ethan Bonner, OL Andrew Meyer, LB Channing Tindall and running back Jeff Wilson Jr. were also inactive.

Quarterback Skylar Thompson was designated as the third emergency quarterback.

Fifth-round rookie Mohamed Kamara was active for the first time in his NFL career.

The Dolphins started to defend after winning the toss and deferring.

Calais Campbell started at defensive end and quickly snuck past right guard Dalton Tucker on the first play to drop Trey Sermon for a two-yard loss. The number of plays per snap this man continues to make is truly astonishing. If we were to name a team MVP so far, he would belong in the conversation.

The defense saw what was in store for Anthony Richardson after his athleticism allowed him to scramble for six yards on second down but was poorly off target on a third-and-6 throw.

So much for the Dolphins quickly establishing the running game. After a 2-yard run by De’Von Achane on their first offensive play, the Dolphins went for the pass, and that drive ended with a quick three-and-out.

It should be noted that Achane wore the Guardian cap to provide extra protection after his concussion.

Did you notice who it was that committed an offsides penalty on the Dolphins’ first touchdown drive? Yes, that was former Dolphins defensive tackle Raekwon Davis, whose penalty on third-and-3 around midfield negated an incompletion.

The Dolphins continued to run more on that drive, which paid off.

Props to Terron Armstead and Aaron Brewer for their downfield blocks on Tyler Huntley’s 10-yard TD pass to Jonnu Smith, who had an 18-yard catch earlier on the drive.

Man, talk about the full Richardson effect. It was all there on the Colts’ next drive, as the talented but erratic quarterback turned a potential Kader Kohou sack on a blitz into a three-yard scramble, then turned a Zach Sieler sack into a 21-yard scramble to the Miami 7.-yard line before dropping for a moment and then failing to fall on it before Sieler still got his big play with the fumble recovery.

The quarter ended with a low block penalty on fullback Alec Ingold, who we suspect will be fined by the NFL.

Ingold returned with a great lead block that set Achane up for a 15-yard run.

It’s great to see Jonnu Smith continue to be involved in the offense, this time with a 15-yard reception.

This drive stalled after Julian Hill failed to set up a pass thrown behind him, but the pass was very catchable on a play where Austin Jackson was flagged for an illegal formation. The Dolphins’ penalty problems remain.

It was a great pass breakup on third down by Kendall Fuller, who has proven to be a good replacement for longtime starting cornerback Xavien Howard.

Penalties continued to be an issue for the Dolphins, with Durham Smythe’s lead canceling out a 32-yard run from Raheem Mostert – although we have to say that decision looked pretty weak. However, there is no excuse for Jonnu Smith to be sidelined later.

Guard Liam Eichenberg’s facemask penalty put the Dolphins in a first-and-24 hole and killed a drive.

Odell Beckham Jr. got a rare target, but he looked like he was about to make a move before catching the ball to avoid a big hit and ultimately dropped it. The only consolation is that it came on third-and-18 and wouldn’t have resulted in a first down anyway.

Ingold also contributed in the first half when he leaked out of the backfield unguarded and caught a 25-yard pass from Huntley to start the two-minute drive.

That came after the Colts made the curious decision to punt from midfield on fourth-and-3 while trailing 7-0.

Anyway, this was a pretty good two-minute drive engineered by Huntley, including a handy 13-yard completion to Jonnu Smith after scrambling down the left.

The drive ended with a Jason Sanders field goal that made it 10-0, but the Dolphins gave up a long finish in the final seconds, just as they did against Tennessee.

That gave the Colts a chance to kick a 52-yard field goal at the buzzer to make it 10–3.

It was disappointing to end a solid first half overall, even with the penalties and zero goals for Tyreek Hill or Jaylen Waddle.