SportsDirect Inc. staff
Oct 19, 2014
Colts 27, Bengals 0: Andrew Luck threw for 344 yards and the Indianapolis defense dominated visiting Cincinnati in a battle of division leaders.
Luck completed 27-of-42 with two touchdowns in tying Peyton Manning's 2009 club record with five consecutive 300-yard passing games as the Colts (5-2) won a fifth straight contest for the first time in the Luck era. The Colts limited the Bengals to 135 total yards - just 27 in the first half - in recording its first shutout since 2008 versus Tennessee and second since 1997.
Andy Dalton was 18-of-38 for 126 yards for Cincinnati (3-2-1), which has two losses and a tie in its last three contests after starting the season with three wins. The defense surrendered 506 yards to the Colts and has yielded 107 points and 1,442 yards the last three games after permitting 33 and 1,059, respectively, in its first three contests.
The Indianapolis defense forced eight three-and-outs to begin the game before an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty provided the Bengals their initial first down with less than a minute to play in the half. Despite Cincinnati's ineptitude, the Colts could only muster a 10-0 lead at the half even with 268 yards because of two fumbles and 0-for-6 conversions on third downs.
Adam Vinatieri opened the scoring with a 23-yard field goal late in the first, Ahmad Bradshaw plowed over from 1-yard three minutes into the second before Luck threw a 32-yard TD pass to tight end Dwayne Allen to stretch the edge to 17-0 with 9:47 left in the third. Luck hit Bradshaw for a 10-yard TD and early in the fourth and Vinatieri connected from 50 yards before finishing off the Bengals first shutout since 2010 against the Jets.
GAME NOTEBOOK: The Bengals played without starting LBs Rey Maualuga (hamstring) and Emmanuel Lamur (shoulder) and star wideout A.J. Green. Pro Bowl LB Vontaze Burfict left in the first quarter due to a neck injury. …The Colts lost two fumbles giving them 13 turnovers for the season - one fewer than the entire 2013 campaign combined. …Colts WR T.Y. Hilton caught a 46-yard pass from Luck early in the second quarter - his NFL-leading seventh reception of 30-plus yards this season.