Colts Defeat Bengals, 26-10, Advance to Divisional Round

The Indianapolis Colts overcame dropped passes, bad penalties, and turnovers to defeat the Cincinnati Bengals in the Wild Card round of the playoffs. The Colts had a sluggish first half but pulled away in the second en route to the 26-10 win.

Andrew Luck was on fire all afternoon. However, none of his plays were more impressive than a touchdown pass to Donte Moncrief in the third quarter.

Luck scramble under pressure and threw a dart to Moncrief in the endzone. Luck was falling forward in the grasp of a Bengals defender as the pass cut loose from his hand.

Luck finished the day completing 31-of-44 passes for 376 yards and the touchdown. He also had a pair of carries for 18 yards.

Running back Dan Herron was Luck’s favorite target on Sunday. The Bengals played the deep pass allowing Luck to dump the ball off the Herron regularly throughout the day.

Herron had 10 receptions for 85 yards. He also had 12 carries for 56 yards and a touchdown. He also had two fumbles, but only one was lost.

The Colts receivers had their fair share of drops today, as has been the case for the entire season.

T.Y. Hilton struggled early, dropping at least three passes and another that could have been a touchdown. He still managed to finish with six receptions for 103 yards.

Jerrell Freeman led the Colts defense with a dominant performance. He finished with 15 tackles, 1.5 sacks, and a forced fumble.

The defense shut down the Bengals in the second half. They were 0-for-5 on their third down attempts through the first five drives of the half.

The Bengals were expected to ride running back Jeremy Hill with the receiving corps severely depleted. The Colts held Hill to just 47 yards rushing and an early touchdown.

Andy Dalton couldn’t find options downfield and just 18 passes. The Colts secondary locked down his receiving options and were credited with nine pass breakups.

The win propels the Colts in the Division Round and a rematch with the Denver Broncos and Peyton Manning.