Colts two-minute drive leads to 13-10 victory over Bengals
By Evan Reller
The Indianapolis Colts preseason came to a merciful end Thursday night with a 13-10 win against the Cincinnati Bengals. A two-minute drive in the fourth quarter led to the win for the Colts.
The preseason mercifully came to a close Thursday night after a 45-minute snoozer in Cincinnati. The first half featured the Colts turning the ball over twice in the red zone leading to a 0-0 halftime score with the Bengals. The second half wasn’t much better but had an exciting ending.
With the Bengals taking the lead with just under two minutes left to play, Stephen Morris and company needed a touchdown to claim this final victory. TO his credit, Morris led a beautiful drive that got bogged down just outside the red zone before Tevaun Smith hauled in a wide receiver screen pass for the touchdown.
The Colts wrapped up victory off a Christopher Milton interception.
Morris went 20-for-30 for 217 yards a touchdown and an interception. Smith finished with four catches for 39 yards and the game winner.
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Scott Tolzien had an efficient night, completing 11-for-12 of his passes for 88 yards. He played for just over a quarter and did enough to cement his status as Andrew Luck‘s backup.
The Colts run game improved from “pointless” to “below average” on Thursday. New addition Stevan Ridley got the start, but with eight carries had just 13 yards (to go along with an awful drop on what would have been a huge screen play). Ridley simply didn’t do anything to make himself stand out as a potential final 53-man roster.
Robert Turbin faired much better, getting 16 yards off three carries although he fumbled the ball away on a promising drive. He also had a pair of receptions for 19 yards. Jordan Todman put up an impressive 33 yards on just five carries, and has had a number of impressive plays this preseason.
Chester Rogers continued making a good case for making the final roster. He finished the night with seven receptions for 80 yards.
Defensively, the Colts had a standout performance from T.Y. McGill once again, as he continues to make the lives of opposing QBs miserable.
The Colts still struggled with penalties, the worst being a hands to the face by Earl Okine as Hassan Ridgeway notched a sack on third-and-long. Penalties are always bad, but this team has a penchant for getting them at the worst possible time.
Up next, the Colts play a meaningful football game on Sunday, September 11th when they host the Detroit Lions in the regular season opener.