Bengals-Colts Preview

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The Indianapolis Colts no longer have control of the AFC, greatly because they can't stop the run. The Cincinnati Bengals' improvement defensively is a big reason they are back in position to make the playoffs.
Without some help over the weekend, the Colts could go into Monday night still looking to clinch a postseason berth as they try to avoid a third straight loss while preventing the Bengals from recording their longest win streak in 18 years.

Though the team still appears very likely to make the playoffs, Indianapolis (10-3) could use a strong performance - particularly on defense - to prove to doubters it's still a viable Super Bowl contender.

The Colts allowed 375 yards rushing, tied for second-most in the NFL since the 1970 merger, in a 44-17 home loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars last Sunday.

It was the third loss in four games following a 9-0 start for the Colts, who had been the top seed in the AFC before last week's loss. They have fallen into a tie with Baltimore for the conference's second-best record, one game behind San Diego.

Regardless of whether they beat the Bengals (8-5), the Colts can still clinch the AFC South if Jacksonville loses at Tennessee on Sunday.

If Denver loses at Arizona on Sunday, Indianapolis will clinch at least a wild-card berth. If the Broncos win, the Colts will need a victory Monday to wrap up a spot in the postseason.

"We don't have that No. 1 seed in our hands right now. We did up until yesterday," coach Tony Dungy told the team's official Web site Monday. "We have to continue to play and win, and win as many games as we can. But right now, we're in the thick of things.

"If we're playing well, I don't think it really matters what seed you are. You can be the No. 1 seed - if you're not playing well, it's not going to help us. So, that's our concern, is to try to get ourselves back playing well. That's everything."

Last Sunday's loss was the team's worst since a 41-0 defeat to the New York Jets in the playoffs five years ago. That season also was the last time Indianapolis lost three games in a row.

Indianapolis spent much of last week working on tackling, but it didn't seem to pay off as the Colts were again awful against the run. The Colts rank last in the NFL with 176.5 rushing yards allowed per game, and have given up 594 on the ground in their last two.

"What we have to do is look at things, examine the breakdowns and improve," Dungy said. "Fortunately, we have time to do that. If this was the last game of the season, it would be tougher."

The Colts defense will look to rebound against Cincinnati's Rudi Johnson, who ran for 117 yards and two touchdowns on a season-high 30 carries in the Bengals' 27-10 victory over Oakland on Sunday. Johnson notched his third consecutive 1,000-yard season.

The victory was the fourth straight for the Bengals, who haven't won five in a row since the 1988 season, the last time they reached the Super Bowl.

Cincinnati has bounced back after dropping five of six to fall to 4-5. The team is tied with Jacksonville in the race for the AFC's two wild-card spots.

"We've been in this position for the last month," Johnson said. "Our backs have been against the wall. We've been coming out fighting and clawing. We definitely understand our situation."

Cincinnati's defense has keyed the resurgence, giving up only 17 points over the last three games to set a club record. The team recorded its first shutout in 17 years at Cleveland on Nov. 26.

The Bengals have held the opposition below 100 yards rushing in four straight games, allowing a total of 276 yards and 3.8 per carry. Before that stretch, they gave up more than 100 yards on the ground in every contest during a three-game skid.

"We're on the way up," linebacker Brian Simmons said. "We don't want to peak until Miami (the Super Bowl), if we're fortunate to get there."

Cincinnati gave up a club-record 42 points in the second half of a loss to San Diego that capped the 1-5 slump, and allowed New Orleans to gain 595 yards in a win the following week.

The Bengals go up against a struggling Indianapolis offense that has failed to score more than 17 points in four of its last five games. Quarterback Peyton Manning failed to throw a touchdown pass last Sunday for the first time this season, and has only five TD passes in his last five games.

Making matters worse, receiver Brandon Stokley may be out for the season after injuring his right Achilles' tendon and tight end Dallas Clark will miss his third straight game with a sprained right knee.

"The thing I told the team is that we will see what we are made of from here," Dungy said. "It's fixable. We are going to have to get it fixed to get where we want to go."

The Bengals, meanwhile, have been dealing with more disciplinary issues. Cornerback Deltha O'Neal was inactive against Oakland, a day after his arrest on a drunken driving charge, becoming the eighth Bengals player arrested this year.

Cincinnati's off-field problems even prompted NFL commissioner Roger Goodell to call team president Mike Brown on Monday to offer his help.

"Unfortunately, I can't hold their hands 24/7, but it is embarrassing," Bengals coach Marvin Lewis said Monday. "It's an embarrassment to our organization, to our city and to our fans. These things socially are not right."

http://sports.myway.com/news/12132006/v1452.html

[redlegsfan21]

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -Peyton Manning felt cuddly warm thanks to his favorite receiver.

Of course, Manning to Marvin Harrison is the surest way to get the Indianapolis Colts out of a funk.

The most prolific passing duo in NFL history tore apart the Cincinnati Bengals, combining for three touchdowns in a 34-16 victory Monday night.

"When your backs are against the wall, you go to that old blanket," Manning said. "I'm thankful for those guys every day. Without those two, Marvin and Reggie (Wayne) ...

"I watch other quarterbacks in the league and none of them have two guys like that. One great receiver, but not two great receivers. It makes my job easier."

So did the Colts' maligned defense, which woke up after Indy dropped three of its last four games and yielded an incomprehensible 375 yards rushing a week ago to Jacksonville. Cincinnati gained 278 yards overall, much of it after the outcome was decided.

"The defense felt really challenged to stop the run and get the offense back on the field," Manning said. "We did a good job of staying on the field tonight and getting into a groove."

It was vintage Manning, throwing to Harrison and dominating for the AFC South champion Colts (11-3), while the Bengals (8-6) slipped back in the wild-card race with their first loss in five weeks. They'd allowed 33 points in those four wins, one less than Indy scored Monday night.

"On some teams, it's almost like you have two different teams," Manning said. "We try to stick together."

Manning, 5-0 against Cincinnati, had one of the sharpest outings of his brilliant career, although he never looked deep because the Bengals couldn't cover anyone on quick-hitting routes. He was 29-for-36 for 282 yards, a 136.3 rating, and his 15th career four-touchdown outing. In addition to bringing his total TD throws to Harrison to 103, he found Wayne on an 18-yarder and passed Vinny Testaverde for eighth place with 270 career touchdown passes.

"We have so much talent offensively, we know that at any time we can make things happen, no matter who has the ball," Wayne said. "So whenever you give him time to throw the ball, we know he'll light it up."

Manning was helped greatly by Cincinnati's inability to rush him or handle receivers coming off the line. More than half his completions came on short patterns where a Colt was wide open.

"That's just him," Bengals cornerback Tory James said of Manning. "He did what he do. He did his job, which is what he does every time."

And the Colts never let the Bengals' fourth-ranked passing attack hit stride. Dwight Freeney led the defense with three sacks and Carson Palmer was a pedestrian 14-for-28 for 176 yards.

"We went out there and proved to ourselves that we could play well," Freeney said.

The victory kept Indianapolis even with Baltimore and one game behind San Diego in the race for top record in the AFC.

"Sometimes things get escalated," Manning said. "We lost two in a row, so we must have all these problems. We knew what was at stake. ... We're playing for a lot of momentum going into the postseason and for seeding."

The game became a poke-and-probe chess match in which Manning's patience and Harrison's polish were decisive. On the first two touchdowns, Harrison beat Cincinnati's coverage to the inside for 4- and 3-yard scores. He went the other way on the third, victimizing Deltha O'Neal for a 1-yarder that made it 24-13.

The touchdowns capped clock-sapping drives that had the Bengals' strong offense anxiously awaiting its chances. Cincinnati did almost nothing with those opportunities

Indy's suspect defense made the first big play of the night. Freeney, who had only 2½ sacks coming in, slammed into Palmer from behind and knocked the ball loose for Anthony McFarland to recover at the Bengals 46.

That led to Adam Vinatieri's 30-yard field goal.

Shayne Graham tied it 3-3 with a 27-yarder set up by some poor tackling by the Colts on Rudi Johnson.

With Indy up 10-3, Terrence Wilkins unwisely fielded a well-covered punt at his 25 and dropped the ball. Cincinnati's Tony Stewart recovered, leading to Rudi Johnson's 12-yard run that tied it 10-10.

No matter as Manning calmly led a 13-play drive using up all but 13 seconds of the half. He even scrambled for 12 yards on third-and-9, and then Harrison used another slant-in for a 3-yard touchdown.

Cincinnati's passing attack managed 17 yards in the first half and couldn't protect Palmer from the inspired Freeney. And the Bengals rushed for just 133 yards.

"I'm not stunned - disappointed," Palmer said. "I felt we had an opportunity to win, a chance to extend our season. I played terrible, I missed too many balls."

Cincinnati is tied with the Jaguars, Jets and Broncos for the two AFC wild-card berths. ^

Notes:

Harrison finished with eight catches for 86 yards and Wayne had seven for 84 ... Colts rookie running back Joseph Addai left in the third quarter with an ankle injury that Dungy didn't think was serious. Bengals left tackle Willie Anderson hurt his right foot, while Chad Johnson needed an IV at halftime, but returned.

http://sports.myway.com/news/12192006/v1164.html