TONIGHT

Indianapolis (4-7) at Miami (8-3)

6 p.m., Channel 7

The line: Miami by 41/2.

Story line: With the surprising Patriots hot on their heels in the AFC East race, the Dolphins cannot afford a letdown, especially to a dangerous Colt offense that is coming off a 27-point performance at Baltimore last week.

Keys to the game: Quarterbacks Peyton Manning and Jay Fiedler guide offenses that have shown the propensity to collapse under a rash of turnovers. Without the injured Edgerrin James to lean on, Manning has been shouldering the load with mixed results. With no James to worry about, opposing safeties have been flooding the middle of the field. Manning will be looking for Marvin Harrison, who burned Dolphin cornerback Patrick Surtain for three touchdowns in Week Nine. Getting running back Dominic Rhodes going will be important against a Miami defense that feasts upon one-dimensional offenses. While not the most gifted passer, Fiedler has emerged as a leader, piloting the Dolphins to five fourth-quarter comebacks this season. Look for Fiedler to open up running lanes and exploit the Colts’ weak secondary by going deep to receiver Chris Chambers several times.

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MATCHUPS IND MIA Pts. scored 26.5 (4) 21.4 (11) Pts. allowed 30.6 (31) 20.2 (15) Pass off. 261.2 (2) 208.7 (16) Rush off. 120.7 (10) 100.4 (22) Pass def. 219.9 (25) 178.4 (2) Rush def. 132.8 (26) 105.1 (13) Time of poss. 31:31 (7) 31:11 (10) Turn. ratio -12 (29) -11 (26) Sacks 26 (16) 27 (14)

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The pick: Miami.