Bengals vs. Colts: Key Battles That Will Decide 1st-Round Matchup

You can make all the narratives you want heading into the playoffs, but the games will always come down to each player winning his individual matchup.

No matter what position you play, getting the better of the person lined up across from you is the best way to help the team win. This is exactly what will decide the Wild Card Round battle between the Cincinnati Bengals and Indianapolis Colts.

Of course, some individual matchups will have a bigger importance than others Sunday. These one-on-one battles will truly be the difference in the playoff game.

WR A.J. Green vs. CB Vontae Davis

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The most talented offensive player on either team might not even play in this game. A.J. Green is currently waiting to be cleared after suffering a concussion in the Week 17 battle against the Pittsburgh Steelers, per Coley Harvey of ESPN.com.

If he does play, however, there is no question he will remain an important factor for the Cincinnati Bengals. Despite dealing with injuries for much of the season, Green still finished with over 1,000 receiving yards, while topping 100 yards in five different games.

Chris Wesseling of NFL.com discussed the drop off if Green is unable to play:

Whether Green starts or Mohammed Sanu takes his place, Vontae Davis will be ready to stop either one. The physical corner has had an excellent season shutting down some of the best receivers in the game and that should continue into the playoffs.

When Green was out in the regular-season battle, the Bengals receivers managed just five total catches in a 27-0 loss. Davis will try to create a similar outcome no matter who is in the lineup.

QB Andrew Luck vs. FS Reggie Nelson

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A lot of the talk coming into this game has featured the postseason play of Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton. Although some of the criticism is deserved (0-3 career playoff record with one touchdown and six interceptions), he is not the only young quarterback to make mistakes in big games.

As ESPN Stats and Info recorded, Andrew Luck hasn't been too careful with the ball in his small sample size either:

While Luck is in the midst of an outstanding season with 40 passing touchdowns and 4,761 passing yards, he still threw 16 interceptions with many of them costing his team in big moments.

In this game, Reggie Nelson will be the player trying to force the Pro Bowl quarterback into making as many mistakes as possible. The safety leads Cincinnati with four interceptions this season and has shown the ability to make plays all over the field with a career-high 94 tackles on the year.

The veteran defensive back will try to take away the deep ball on attempts toward T.Y. Hilton in this game, but his most important task will be to force turnovers when he has the opportunity. If Nelson can jump on Luck's mistakes, this game could swing into the Bengals' favor.

RT Eric Winston vs. LB Bjoern Werner

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Like all quarterbacks, Dalton is much better when he is given time to make plays. The Bengals have done an excellent job this season at protecting the young passer, allowing just 23 sacks this season to rank third in the NFL.

We all know the left side of the line will be just fine with Andrew Whitworth protecting the blind side. However, there are more questions about right tackle Eric Winston, who has only been with the team a short amount of time.

If the Colts are going to get pressure on the quarterback, attacking the strong side might be the way to do it.

Unfortunately, this has been a problem for Indianapolis for much of the season. Bjoern Werner came into the league with a lot of promise but has struggled recently, failing to get a sack in eight games. Phillip B. Wilson of Scout.com noted rookie Jonathan Newsome might deserve more playing time based on recent play:

The fact remains whoever is in there, that player will need to do a better job of attacking the quarterback. Getting Dalton out of his comfort zone will be a key to victory for the Colts, but it will not be easy to pull that off.

P Pat McAfee vs. KR Adam Jones

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Is a punter really part of the key matchups? Yes, especially after both Pat McAfee and Adam Jones were named first-team All-Pro players for their work on special teams.

Adam Jones led the NFL with 31.3 yards per kickoff return and ranked fourth in the league with an average of 11.9 yards on punt returns. While he hasn't gotten into the end zone on these plays, he has certainly made a big difference with his long returns.

Meanwhile, the lack of scoring has only motivated him, as he explained earlier in the week, “I’d like to get in the end zone. I’m tired of hitting 50 or 60-yarders. My goal this week is to get into the end zone, by any form or fashion.”

The pressure is now on McAfee to not give the dynamic player a chance to make a potentially game-changing play.

For the season, opponents have averaged just 5.9 yards per return on McAfee's punts. He has pinned 30 balls inside the 20 to go with just three touchbacks. 

Jones is extremely aggressive in the return game, only calling a single fair catch all season. The Colts have to make sure they either put the ball out of bounds or provide some really high kicks to make sure he doesn't get the ball in good position to run it back.

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