Cincinnati Bengals vs Indianapolis Colts Match Player Stats On Jan 04, 2015

SportsDirect Inc. staff
Jan 4, 2015

Colts 26, Bengals 10: Andrew Luck threw for 376 yards and a touchdown and host Indianapolis pulled away in the second half to extend Cincinnati's playoff drought to 24 seasons.

Luck finished 31-of-44 with a 36-yard scoring pass to rookie Donte Moncrief and running back Daniel Herron accounted for 141 total yards and a touchown to send the fourth-seeded Colts (12-5) into a matchup at No. 2 Denver next Sunday. T.Y. Hilton had six catches for 103 yards and Adam Vinitieri kicked four field goals for Indianapolis, which lost to the Broncos 31-24 in Week 1.

Andy Dalton, playing without his two leading receivers, completed 18-of-35 for 155 yards as the fifth-seeded Bengals (10-6-1) went one-and-done in the playoffs for the fourth straight season and remained winless in the postseason since January 1991. Rookie Jeremy Hill rushed for 47 yards and the lone touchdown in the first quarter for Cincinnati, which had four straight three-and-outs in the third.

With his team ahead 13-10 at halftime, Luck eluded pressure and tossed a perfect strike to hit Moncrief in stride in the right corner of the end zone midway through the third quarter. Vinatieri extended the lead with a 22-yard field goal late in the third before connecting from 53 yards for a 26-10 edge with 11 1/2 minutes to play.

Herron scored from 2 yards out on the game's opening drive but the Bengals drew even on Hill's 1-yard run late in the first quarter before a pair of field goals by Vinatieri stretched the Colts' lead to six points. Indianapolis was driving again before Darqueze Dennard forced a fumble by Herron, leading to a career-long 57-yard field goal by Mike Nugent with 10 seconds left in the half to cut the deficit to three.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Luck surpassed Kurt Warner (1,428) for the most yards by a QB in his first four postseason games with 1,438. ... Bengals coach Marvin Lewis fell to 0-6 in the postseason, tying him with Marty Schottenheimer, Jim Mora and Steve Owen for the most consecutive coaching losses in the playoffs. ... Hilton has 496 receiving yards in his first four postseason games, the second-highest total for any player in such a span (Larry Fitzgerald, 546). ... The Bengals were without star WR A.J. Green (concussion) and TE Jermaine Gresham (back), who were 1-2 on the team in receptions, and lost LB Rey Maualuga (hamstring) early in the second quarter.