The Cincinnati Bengals beat the Indianapolis Colts at Paycor Stadium 34-14 on Sunday as the Colts scored just one offensive touchdown on nine possessions. The Colts have now dropped back to the seventh seed in the AFC playoff race, which includes a cluster of six teams with 7-6 records vying for the last two postseason slots.
Cincinnati delivered an early 14-0 punch. If the Indianapolis Colts and coach Shane Steichen could've completed the comeback, they would've added another adversity-filled notch to their resume.
Indianapolis allowed two early scoring drives. Cincinnati capped off a 92-yard drive that ended with running back Chase Brown taking a screen for 52 yards. Fellow running back Joe Mixon then punched in a short touchdown run to complete a 72-yard sequence.
As the Colts tried to regain control, quarterback Gardner Minshew led the team on a 17-play drive that lasted over eight minutes. He found tight end Mo Alie-Cox, a former VCU basketball player, who skied over shorter linebacker Logan Wilson and pulled down a touchdown reception. This action shot shows just how Alie-Cox can be an elite red-zone threat.
Coming off of a Monday Night Football performance in which Bengals quarterback Jake Browning completed 86.5% of his attempts for 354 yards against the Jaguars, Browning made a mistake when DeForest Buckner pressured the pocket. Browning led tight end Tanner Hudson too far toward the middle of the field, resulting in the ball teetering out of his grasp and directly into Ronnie Harrison Jr.'s gloves.
Harrison Jr., who seemed almost surprised that the ball ended up in his grasp, returned the interception to the end zone. It was Harrison's third interception in two weeks. Kicker Matt Gay missed the extra point on the team's first score, so the Colts went for two after the pick-six. Minshew’s pocket patience was rewarded when he found wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. in the back left corner of the end zone.
After laying an egg in the first 20 minutes, the Colts climbed out of the hole they dug for themselves. Indianapolis trailed at halftime in six of its previous 12 games.
The Bengals started the second half with a drive that featured four plays of 10 or more yards, including Hudson’s 11-yard touchdown reception. It was Hudson's first of the season.
A Colts punt led to another long, bruising Bengals drive, where the Indianapolis defense forced Cincinnati to run nine plays inside the Colts’ 25-yard line before Browning patiently found his spot into the end zone on a sneak.
The drive, which included six runs and five passes, was indicative of the balance of the Bengals’ offense. The Bengals' play selection in the game featured 32 rush attempts and 25 passes.
Down 28-14, the Colts desperately needed a sustained drive that resulted in points. The first two plays saw running back Zack Moss pick up four yards on two carries. On a critical 3rd-and-6, Minshew missed Pittman Jr.
Moss started on Sunday in place of the injured Jonathan Taylor, who's still nursing an injured thumb.
Cincinnati's 25th-ranked rushing defense seemed like a pressure point for Steichen’s offense to attack, but Moss and Trey Sermon only managed 41 yards on 15 attempts.
“I have confidence we’ll get it cleaned up," Steichen said, regarding the team's struggling ground game. "Credit to the teams we've played, and starting with myself, we just have to do a better job up front."
Despite the Colts' abysmal offensive play, Pittman Jr. continued his breakout year with eight catches for 95 yards, which marked his fourth straight game with at least eight receptions and 80 yards.
With the Colts trailing by 14 points early in the fourth quarter, Isaiah McKenzie called for a fair catch at the 14-yard line but Ameer Speed ran into him, causing McKenzie to drop the ball, which the Bengals recovered. After special teams were a major factor in the Colts' Week 13 victory over the Tennessee Titans, two missed kicks and the fumbled punt flipped the script for the Colts this week.
“Obviously we want to eliminate all the miscues,” special teams coordinator Brian Mason said postgame. “The punt return, we have to do a much better job communicating as the returner.”
The Colts now sit at 7-6 in the AFC. They're joined by the Bengals, Pittsburgh Steelers, Houston Texans, Denver Broncos and Buffalo Bills, which are the other teams that are in the hunt for a wild card position. The Colts last made the playoffs in 2021.
Next week, the Steelers travel to Lucas Oil Stadium for a Saturday game that will have major implications for each team's season.
