Cincinnati Bengals vs. Indianapolis Colts Pick & Prediction OCT 18TH 2020
Ben Miller
It's been an up and down first season with the Indianapolis Colts for veteran quarterback Philip Rivers, who was signed for $25 million to get a team with high expectations back to the playoffs.
Coming off a poor outing in last week's 32-23 loss to the Cleveland Browns, Rivers vowed he'll be better this week when the Colts (3-2) host the Bengals (1-3-1) at Lucas Oil Stadium.
At 38, Rivers has passed for 1,227 yards and completed 70.8 percent in five games. But he's also posted a touchdown-to-interception ratio of 4-to-5 and has driven the Colts to just two touchdowns in their last 22 offensive possessions over the past two games.
In the Browns' loss, Rivers threw a pick-six and was called for an intentional grounding penalty in his own end zone for a safety, leading directly to nine Cleveland points.
"I do think that's an important message that we are 3-2 and there is no panic here," Rivers said. "Certainly disappointing the way the game went and certainly individually not playing as well as I would have liked. But we are still in position to accomplish everything we wanted to and have an opportunity this week to get back on track."
Colts coach Frank Reich said there are no plans to pull Rivers for backup Jacoby Brissett, who started 15 games for the Colts last season.
"Philip is our quarterback," Reich said.
Like Rivers, Bengals rookie quarterback Joe Burrow is coming off a tough outing.
Burrow was held to 183 yards passing with no touchdowns and an interception in Cincinnati's 27-3 loss to the Baltimore Ravens.
Overall, though, it has been a successful rookie season so far for Burrow, who was taken No. 1 in the NFL draft last April after leading LSU to a national championship and winning the Heisman Trophy. Burrow has passed for 1,304 yards with six touchdowns and three interceptions.
Burrow said he expects the Bengals' offense to bounce back against the Colts on Sunday.
"We just got off of three straight weeks of 300 yards passing," Burrow said. "We've been moving the ball up and down the field and we had a bad game. That's going to happen in the NFL, but you have a short memory as an offense and a quarterback, and you are going to go out there and execute the next week."
Burrow is still trying to establish chemistry with Bengals veteran wideout A.J. Green, as the 32-year-old, seven-time All-Pro has managed just 14 catches for 119 yards with no TDs on the season.
"We need to get him going," Burrow said. "He's a big part of this offense."
Green (hamstring) was limited in practice Wednesday.
After facing the NFL's top scoring defense last week, the Ravens, it won't get any easier for Burrow. The Colts rank second in the league in points allowed, giving up just 17.6 points per game.
"They play three or four coverages and they do it really, really well," Burrow said. "They are very well coached and all their guys play really hard. That's what jumps out on film. They don't put guys out there that don't play hard. So we are going to have to match their intensity."
The Colts had five players miss practice Wednesday with injuries: tight end Mo Alie-Cox (knee), linebacker Darius Leonard (groin), defensive ends Denico Autry (ankle/knee) and Justin Houston (hip), and safety Julian Blackmon (groin).
Offensive tackle Anthony Castonzo (ribs) was upgraded to limited after missing Week 5.
For the Bengals, cornerback Mackensie Alexander (hamstring) and running back Giovani Bernard (groin) were limited Wednesday, while wide receiver Auden Tate (shoulder), defensive end Sam Hubbard (elbow) and cornerback Darius Phillips (shoulder) missed practice.
--Field Level Media
Cincinnati Bengals vs. Indianapolis Colts
Indianapolis Colts quarterback Philip Rivers passed for 371 yards and three touchdowns and Julian Blackmon came up with a critical late interception to lift the Colts to a 31-27 win over the visiting Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday.
Rivers completed 29 of 44 passes, and put the Colts (4-2) ahead to stay with a 14-yard touchdown to Jack Doyle with 14:55 remaining. Indianapolis pushed the lead to 31-27 with 4:03 left on a 40-yard field goal from Rodrigo Blankenship.
The Bengals (1-4-1) had a chance to steal the win late, but Blackmon intercepted Cincinnati rookie quarterback Joe Burrow at the Colts 19-yard line with 46 seconds left to seal it.
Burrow passed for 313 yards and scored on a one-yard touchdown run, posting his fourth 300-yard passing day in six games. But it wasn't enough at the Bengals saw their winless road streak extend to 17 games.
Cincinnati kicker Randy Bullock, who had field goals of 47 and 55 yards, had a 48-yard attempt bounce off the right upright midway through the fourth quarter.
Burrow led Cincinnati to three touchdown drives on its first three possessions, allowing the Bengals to jump to an early 21-0 lead. Giovani Bernard scored on 2-yard run with 11:17 left in the first quarter, Burrow added his own 2-yard touchdown later in the frame, and Joe Mixon's 7-yard touchdown came on the first play of the second quarter.
Rivers, making his 230th consecutive start, rallied the Colts back. Rivers led the Colts on a 7-play, 87-yard drive, capped by a one-yard scoring run from Trey Burton to cut Cincinnati's lead to 21-7. Rivers then connected with Burton on a 10-yard touchdown and found Zach Paschal on a 17-yard scoring pass with 15 seconds left to pull the Colts within 24-21 of the Bengals at the half.
Bullock's 55-yard field goal was the only scoring in the third quarter.
Tee Higgins had six catches for 125 yards and A.J. Green added eight receptions for 96 yards for the Bengals.
Jonathan Taylor led the Colts with 60 yards rushing on 12 carries, and Marcus Johnson collected eight catches for 108 yards.
--Field Level Media
- NFL
