Dallas Clark of the Colts exults in scoring a touchdown just 12 seconds into a 27-23 win over the Dolphins on Monday night. (J. Pat Carter/Associated Press)

Peyton Manning had to beat the clock to beat the Miami Dolphins on Monday night.

Kept off the field most of the night by Miami's time-chewing wildcat offence, Manning engineered a scoring drive in short order late in the fourth quarter as the visiting Indianapolis Colts rallied for a 27-23 victory over the Dolphins.

After Dan Carpenter kicked a 45-yard field goal to put the Dolphins up 23-20, Manning capped a four-play, 80-yard march by firing a 48-yard touchdown pass to rookie wide receiver Pierre Garcon with 3:18 remaining.

Four plays in 32 seconds.

"Everybody was calm and Pierre was very patient," Manning said. "Of course, we didn't get many possessions but he came up big when we really needed him.

"It was about being efficient when it counted in the fourth quarter," Manning said. "That is really what the game is about."

Colts free safety Antoine Bethea sealed the deal by picking off Dolphins quarterback Chad Pennington in the end zone as time expired.

"To have as few plays as he [Manning] did and to do what he did, you just don't see that," Pennington said.

Manning completed 14 of 23 pass attempts for 303 yards and two touchdowns — impressive numbers considering the offence had the ball for less than 15 minutes.

Led by the backfield tandem of Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams, formerly of the Toronto Argonauts, Miami offset Manning's quick-strike offence by controlling the clock for the bulk of the contest.

Brown rushed 24 times for 136 yards and two touchdowns, while Williams contributed 69 yards on 19 carries.

"It is really disheartening," Dolphins head coach Tony Sparano said. "That is exactly the formula to beat that team."

"That is one of the strangest losses I have ever been part of," Dolphins free safety Gibril Wilson claimed. "For us to come up short was very heartbreaking."

Miami held the lead four times on the night and maintained possession of the ball for a whopping 45 minutes seven seconds — three times longer than the Colts (14:53).

The last time an NFL team had the ball for less than 15 minutes and won? 1977.

"Give credit to our defence," Colts tight end Dallas Clark said. "They were out there for probably 100 plays.

"For that last drive, I know they were tired. For them to come up with those plays and keep them from scoring was just tremendous effort."

Manning counts 6,000th completion

An 80-yard TD strike to Clark on the first play from scrimmage was Manning's longest completion since Nov. 28, 2005, when he and former Colts receiver Marvin Harrison hooked up for a similar 80-yard major.

Manning later counted his 6,000th completion as a pro on an eight-yard pass to Clark, but not before the Dolphins tied it 7-7 on a 14-yard TD run from Brown.

Carpenter and Adam Vinatieri then swapped field goals, and Carpenter split the uprights from 44 yards out to make it 13-10 Miami with 43 seconds remaining to intermission.

But Manning rallied the Colts in the waning seconds.

After Wilson had an interception overturned on video review with eight seconds left, Manning completed a 20-yard pass to Clark to set up the tying field goal by Vinatieri from 48 yards.

Indianapolis held the ball for all of 80 seconds in a scoreless third quarter, and Miami regained the lead on Brown's three-yard TD romp early in the fourth.

But Colts rookie running back Donald Brown tied it five minutes later as he burst up the middle and broke tackles for a 15-yard TD run.

With files from The Associated Press