The 0-5 Indianapolis Colts will make the 110 mile drive to Ohio to face the Cincinnati Bengals as the Colts hope to get their first win of the season.
The Bengals are sitting at 3-2 and battling with the Ravens and Steelers for first place in the AFC North behind a surprisingly successful young offense led by two rookies. Quarterback Andy Dalton has been playing solid, with a 60 percent completion rate, averaging over 200 yards per game and 6 TDs on the season.
First round draft pick, wide receiver A.J. Green is leading the team in receiving with 402 yards and 3 TDs and has made some spectacular acrobatic catches. “He’s got the rare athletic ability to make the big plays despite not being polished yet,” Bengals offensive coordinator Jay Gruden said.
“But when he gets the routes down and knows how to run against certain looks, he’s going to be really good.”
The Colts offense has shown some signs of life under Curtis Painter. He and wide receiver Pierre Garcon have teamed up for 271 yards and 4 TDs, including Painter’s first career TD pass, and 87-yard completion to Garcon.
But the consistency isn’t there for Indianapolis yet, as last week’s game against the Chiefs showed. Painter was 12 of 17 for 237 yards and 2 TDs in the first half, and then 3 of 15 for 40 yards the rest of the day. Since he’s only had two starts, we expect the consistency to improve.
The big difference is on the defensive side of the ball. The Bengals are in the top 10 against both the pass and the run, giving up 191 passing yards per game (3rd in the league) and 88 rushing yards (7th).
The Colts defense has been worse than their offense. They are second last in the league against the run, giving up 145 yards per game, and 19th against the pass.
Bengals defense wins the day, expect Cincinnati in a fairly easy victory.
