Bengals vs. Colts: Complete Wild Card Game Preview for Indianapolis
The NFL playoffs are finally here, and the Indianapolis Colts will try to advance to the divisional round with a win on Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals.
It wasn't the best of finishes to the regular season for the Colts, but they were still able to go 11-5, even with close calls to the Cleveland Browns and Houston Texans. A 42-7 loss to the Dallas Cowboys has shaken Colts fans' confidence as of late, but the team will be looking to prove that they belong among the AFC's best teams.
Sunday's game will actually be a rematch from Week 7, when the Colts got a solid 27-0 win. However, the Bengals were without A.J. Green for that game, and that made things a lot harder for Cincinnati's offense.
Not only will the Bengals be trying to avenge their regular-season loss against the Colts, but they'll also be trying to get their first playoff win since 1990. They've been to the playoffs five times since 2005 but haven't won a single postseason game.
Both teams are looking to prove that they're for real in this Wild Card Weekend matchup, so let's take a look at a complete team preview for Indianapolis.
Colts Week 17 Recap
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With nothing to really play for in Week 17, the Colts were still able to coast to a 27-10 win against the Tennessee Titans despite pulling their starters quite early.
Andrew Luck and the offense were finally able to get off to a strong start after so many slow ones the past few weeks. Daniel Herron provided the spark on their first scoring drive of the game, with Luck capping it off with a seven-yard pass to Coby Fleener. It was a big game for the tight end, who caught five passes for 56 yards and two touchdowns from two different quarterbacks.
In the second quarter, it only took the Colts three plays to score on an 80-yard drive thanks to a huge reception down the sideline from Reggie Wayne. One play later, Jack Doyle caught an easy one-yard score to put the Colts up 14-0.
Charlie Whitehurst was finally able to put the Titans on the board with five minutes left in the second quarter, hitting Kendall Wright on a six-yard pass. However, Luck was able to drive down the field again just before halftime before settling for a field goal and putting the Colts up 17-7 heading into the locker room.
With a two-possession lead through two quarters, the Colts decided to bench Luck and put Matt Hasselbeck in. The veteran quarterback held his own, completing 13 of his 19 passes for 155 yards and a touchdown. He led the Colts on two scoring drives in the second half while the Titans could do very little, adding just a field goal in the 27-10 loss.
News and Notes
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Gosder Cherilus Placed on Injured Reserve
Injuries have plagued the Colts offensive line throughout the 2014 season, and they'll have another big hole to fill with the recent news regarding right tackle Gosder Cherilus.
Before the start of the playoffs, the Colts placed Cherilus on injured reserve on Wednesday, according to Mike Wilkening from Pro Football Talk. Cherilus had been dealing with groin and shoulder injuries, causing him to miss three games, and apparently he hasn't gotten any healthier.
Cherilus will be missed, but at the same time, he hadn't been playing well this season. Looking ahead to the offseason, the Colts may want to seriously consider looking at an offensive tackle like LSU's La'el Collins or Miami's Ereck Flowers in the NFL draft if they are serious about protecting Luck.
Raiders Interested in Pep Hamilton
Colts fans have had very mixed feelings regarding offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton. Regardless of fans' feelings, it looks like there's a chance Hamilton could be moving on after this season.
ESPN's Josina Anderson reported Wednesday that the Oakland Raiders have requested to interview Hamilton for their vacant head coaching position. The Raiders have gone through seven different coaches in the past 10 years, but they're hoping to finally find their long-term coach this offseason.
Hamilton has made some questionable decisions during his time with the Colts, but it will be a lot more interesting to see what he can do once he's in charge of an entire football team, especially one with as little success over the past decade as Oakland.
Dwayne Allen Ready for Offense to Turn Around
Turnovers and slow starts have made things much harder for the Colts over the past month. Injuries have been a factor as well, but guys like T.Y. Hilton and Dwayne Allen look to be ready to go for the postseason after missing games in December.
Allen understands that the offense has struggled lately, and they all apparently understand that it's time to turn things back around.
Allen told Mike Wells of ESPN.com:
"Just the results in the games haven’t been there. The huge loss and embarrassment to Dallas. Then the narrow victories over a couple other teams. We haven’t been playing the type of football we wanted to play. Our motto is to pound them and score 50. We haven’t done that so far. It’s time for us to regroup and time to make this playoff run.
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Allen and Fleener will be key in getting the offense back on track, but Allen will particularly be important. Along with making plays in the passing game, Allen is a valuable run-blocker, and his presence should help open lanes for Trent Richardson and Daniel Herron.
Injury Report
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| Player | Position | Injury Status |
| Dwayne Allen | TE | Full |
| Josh Cribbs | KR | Full |
| Jerrell Freeman | ILB | Full |
| Joe Reitz | OG | Full |
| A.Q. Shipley | C | DNP |
| Hugh Thornton | OG | DNP |
| Erik Walden | OLB | Full |
| Reggie Wayne | WR | Full |
| Bjoern Werner | OLB | Full |
Note: All injury statuses are from Thursday's practice via Colts.com.
Cherilus may be out for the rest of the year, but the rest of the news on the injury report this week has been surprisingly positive.
Injuries are still present on the offensive line, with A.Q. Shipley and Hugh Thornton missing practice on Thursday. On the bright side, Joe Reitz was finally able to return to practice and will likely play at right tackle instead of Xavier Nixon, who has struggled mightily at the position.
Luck will have all of his weapons back on Sunday, including Hilton and Allen. Reggie Wayne also looks ready to go despite leaving last week's game early, which means that the passing game should be in good shape to take on the Bengals secondary.
Jerrell Freeman and Bjoern Werner also look ready to play on Sunday after missing the Titans game. Werner hasn't been as an effective of a pass-rusher as rookie Jonathan Newsome, but Freeman is a big upgrade over his backup in Josh McNary.
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X-Factors and Matchups to Watch
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Vontae Davis vs. A.J. Green
There will be no bigger matchup to keep an eye on Sunday than Vontae Davis going head-to-head against A.J. Green, one of the most talented wide receivers in the league. Both players were selected to the Pro Bowl this season, and they'll be looking to prove themselves against some tough competition.
Green missed three games this season but still finished with 1,041 yards and six touchdowns on 69 receptions. Meanwhile, Davis has been one of the best shutdown corners in the league, allowing just a 38.8 passer rating while being thrown at just 71 times, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required).
If Davis can shut down Green, Andy Dalton will have a much tougher time in the passing game. However, Green isn't the only player the Colts defense will have to contain.
(UPDATE: Green is officially listed as doubtful, according to Paul Dehner Jr. from the Cincinnati Enquirer)
Colts Defensive Line vs. Jeremy Hill
The Colts defense prides itself on trying to stop the run, and that will be a big key in Sunday's game with how much the Bengals have been running as of late.
Rookie running back Jeremy Hill has emerged as Cincinnati's starter and played quite well since taking over the lead back role. Over the past three games, he's carried the ball 70 times for 395 yards and three touchdowns while averaging 5.6 yards per carry.
Players like Arthur Jones, Cory Redding and Josh Chapman will be key in slowing Hill down. The Colts run defense ranks just 19th, according to Football Outsiders, so it will be no easy task. However, winning the battle in the trenches would eliminate a big part of Cincinnati's offense.
Colts Running Game vs. George Iloka
Everyone expects the Colts to air it out in the playoffs, but they'll still need to have some sense of offensive balance with some solid runs. In order to successfully run the ball, the Colts will need to keep an eye on Bengals strong safety George Iloka.
Iloka was only a fifth-round pick back in 2012, but he's steadily improved since seeing the field in 2013. This season, he's become a more confident player, making an impact against the run and in pass coverage.
The Bengals don't have many players that can plug up rushing lanes, but Iloka might be one of the better ones, so the Colts offensive line and running backs will have to find ways to keep him from getting into the backfield.
Colts' X-Factor of the Week: Jonathan Newsome
The Colts defense has been very inconsistent throughout the season, and most of their success has relied on the pass rush. They haven't had a lot of options to get to opposing QBs, but rookie Jonathan Newsome has slowly emerged as the team's top pass-rusher.
Newsome led all Colts players in the regular season with 6.5 sacks to go along with three forced fumbles, and that's after playing very sparingly in the first half of the year. He's far from perfect, but Newsome looks better almost every week.
It will be hard for Newsome to be too disruptive since Dalton has only been sacked 21 times this year, but if he can at least put some pressure on the quarterback, it will go a long way.
Prediction
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The Bengals will be coming in with a little more motivation considering their postseason woes over the years, but the Colts will be playing in front of a loud home crowd at Lucas Oil Stadium.
Luck had little trouble passing on Cincinnati's defense earlier this year, throwing for 344 yards and two touchdowns with a 105.7 passer rating. He'll try to find Hilton and other receivers, but he will also look for his tight ends in Fleener and Allen. The Bengals rank fourth in covering tight ends, according to Football Outsiders, but the Colts tight end duo is one of the better ones in football.
On defense, a lot will depend on which version of Dalton shows up. The 27-year-old is known for being extremely inconsistent, but he has tended to struggle in the postseason. In his three playoff appearances, Dalton has completed under 57 percent of his passes with one touchdown and six interceptions, giving him a 56.2 passer rating.
I expect the Bengals to struggle a bit on offense with their No. 1 receiver being covered by Davis. A strong running game could help Cincinnati, but the Bengals will eventually need Dalton to make some big throws, and I can't see him doing that on the big stage.
As for the Colts offense, Luck should find his groove again now that Hilton and Allen are healthy. I expect an aggressive passing attack early to try to expose the weaknesses in the Bengals secondary, including a couple of deep shots to Hiltonor perhaps even Donte Moncrief.
It won't be easy, and it'll get even harder next week, but I expect the Colts to at least survive for another week.
Prediction: Colts 24, Bengals 20
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