Five turnovers, a number of dropped passes and a plethora of missed defensive assignments by a team usually means a blowout on the road in the NFL, but in this case the Cincinnati Bengals gave Indianapolis all they could handle in the second half before bowing out late in the fourth quarter and handing the Colts a 23-17 victory in the process.
The Bengals were more responsible for their demise on this day than the Colts, and forced Indianapolis to turn them back twice in the final 2:35 before consecutive quarterback sacks by defensive ends Robert Mathis and Dwight Freeney would send Cincinnati home with yet another loss in what has been a nightmare of a season for the Bengals.
The Colts would take an early 10-0 lead in the game, when Kelvin Hayden picked off Carson Palmer and waltzed into the end zone from 31 yards out.
When the Bengals Chris Benson fumbled on the ensuing possession, Indianapolis had the ball at the Cincinnati 25. When Colts back Javarris James ran it in for a score 2:55 seconds later, Indianapolis seemed to have the makings of a rout by a score of 17-0. But the Bengals would regroup and when Chad Ochocinco hauled in a 5-yard touchdown pass, Cincinnati trailed 20-10 at the half.
The third period gave the sellout crowd little to cheer about as both teams showed great futility on offense and combined to put goose eggs on the scoreboard. Indianapolis would manage a field goal in the final stanza (after yet another Bengals turnover) and held Cincinnati in check until Carson Palmer found tight end Jermaine Gresham for an easy touchdown, the lead was cut to six and the stage was set for some interesting drama, to say the least.
Despite the fact that everyone in Lucas Oil Stadium knew the Bengals would be looking to regain possession with an onside kick, the Colts’ Pierre Garcon had the ball taken away from him under a pile and the Bengals Ochocinco recovered it. Garcon poured salt in his self-inflicted wound by displaying unsportsmanlike conduct on the play and when the subsequent 15-yard penalty was tacked on, Cincinnati was back in business and seeking the game-winning touchdown.
But the Colts defense would rally and on the next play from scrimmage forced yet another Bengals turnover, this time a fumble recovered by Dwight Freeney.
When Indianapolis could not move the football, Cincinnati would have one last shot, but Freeney and Mathis would have no part of it and squashed any hopes of a comeback victory for the Bengals with the aforementioned back-to-back sacks to end the game.
NOTES: The Colts offense sputtered all day and produced just 256 total yards. Peyton Manning completed 20 of 36 passes to account for 185 yards.
While he had just seven catches for 86 yards and a touchdown, Chad Ochocinco made the Colts secondary look terribly bad on several plays.
The equally talented, yet controversial Terrell Owens had just four catches, but he too was able to get deep against the Colts secondary.
Javarris James continues to run hard for the Colts in short-yardage situations.
While he will never totally remind us of his cousin Edgerrin (heck, who will?), this young man continues to take advantage of the opportunities that have come his way. Like some other backs in the NFL, James does not shy away from contact and will ram himself into anyone who gets in the way.
After misfiring on many of his early throws, quarterback Carson Palmer was relatively effective against the Colts, throwing for almost 300 yards. That aside, what happened to the Bengals running game that was a staple of their success last season as they went to the playoffs? Cincinnati coach Marvin Lewis, one of the classiest guys in the NFL, must be pulling his hair out over his team. Hard to believe this squad was undefeated last year in their division and is so inept this year.
Hats off to the Colts organization for a great tribute to veterans at halftime. While I have been, and probably will continue to be, critical of the Colts brass, the tribute at halftime was well coordinated and most deserving to those who have, and continue to serve our country. I salute all of you fine people.
The Colts, who are now 6-3 on the season, will travel to Foxborough to face the New England Patriots on Sunday, Nov. 21, in a game that can be seen on WISH-TV locally. The kickoff is slated for 4:15 and if you cannot be in front of the tube for the telecast, you can listen to the game on the radio at 97.1 FM or 1070 AM.
Danny Bridges, who thinks the Patriots’ Tom Brady will carve up the Colts secondary badly on national television, can be reached at (317) 578-1780 or at Bridgeshd@aol.com.
