Indianapolis 20, Cincinnati 16
FOURTH QUARTER UPDATE
Cincinnati quarterback Zac Robinson fumbled a center exchange and the Colts' James Aiono recovered at the Bengals' 19. Darren Evans fumbled on the Colts' first play, and Cincinnati re-took possession at its 16. Indianapolis eventually stopped the possession and took over at its 17 with 4:31 to go.
Harnish hit passes of 15 and 12 yards to Kashif Moore and Jeremy Ross to overcome a sack early in the possession. Harnish teamed with Dominique Jones on a 42-yard touchdown pass with 6:54 left to give Indianapolis a 20-16 lead. A two-point pass failed. Jones is trying to make the club after playing in the United Football League and the Indoor Football League. The IFL played with eight-man offensive and defensive units. Jones shed a tackle on the reception and benefited by two blocks from rookie LaVon Brazill. The drive covered 73 yards in eight plays.
Linebacker Moise Fokou forced a fumble that was recovered by cornerback Josh Gordy deep in Colts territory. Gordy recovered along the sideline and Indianapolis took possession at its 27.
The Colts were unable to move on offense, missing on a seventh third-down attempt on the night, and Cincinnati started its third second-half possession at the Indianapolis 38.
A Bengals possession that lasted into the first minute of the fourth quarter ended at midfield and a Kevin Huber punt went out at the Indianapolis one as the Colts regained possession with 14:07 to go.
THIRD QUARTER UPDATE
Indianapolis was unable to sustain a drive on its first possession of the half, and McAfee punted for 52 yards. Cincinnati took possession at it 23 with 3:31 left in the period.
Nugent hit a 22-yard field goal with 6:11 left in the period to conclude Cincinnati's first possession of the half. The Bengals scored after the Indianapolis defense stiffened deep. The drive consumed 8:49 off the clock. Cincinnati went 83 yards in 16 plays.
SECOND QUARTER UPDATE
A slow-moving first half had 16 penalties, nine by Cincinnati and seven by the Colts. Indianapolis only had 10 total penalties in the first three preseason games.
Nugent kicked a 48-yard field goal with two seconds left in the half to cut the score to 14-13. The drive covered 36 yards in five plays, taking 43 seconds. Drake Nevis had a sack for the Colts on the drive.
Two Cincinnati penalties on the subsequent possession pinned the Bengals deep, and the Colts took over at their 44 with 1:38 left in the half. The Colts started the drive with one timeout. Adams had a 23-yard reception from Harnish to put the Colts on the Cincinnati 18. The Colts got a first down at the Cincinnati one on a pass interference call in the end zone. Darren Evans scored on a one-yard sweep with 45 seconds left to give Indianapolis a 14-10 lead. It was a seven-play, 56-yard drive.
Mario Harvey made a third-down stop for Indianapolis to force a Cincinnati punt from deep in its territory. The Colts had their best field position of the night, starting at their 45. Harnish connected with wide receiver Kris Adams on a 32-yard completion to the Cincinnati seven, and running back Deji Karim scored a play later. The Colts zipped 55 yards in three plays to make the score 10-7.
Indianapolis was not able to move the ball on its fifth possession, giving Cincinnati possession with 5:17 left in the period.
Indianapolis forced a three-and-out with a third-and-one stop. The Colts took possession at their 31 with 6:56 left in the half.
Tickets distributed for tonight's game: 65,035.
Indianapolis was unable to move the ball on its fourth possession. McAfee punted 60 yards.
Marvin Jones caught a 10-yard touchdown pass from Bruce Gradkowski to end the Bengals' third possession. The drive covered 58 yards in 12 plays, taking 4:59 off the clock. The touchdown came on third down, and the drive included a fourth-down conversion in Indianapolis territory.
FIRST QUARTER UPDATE
Chandler Harnish started the Colts' third possession, with no front-line players on the unit. Indianapolis had a three-and-out. McAfee punted 50 yards.
Linebacker Robert Mathis and safeties Antoine Bethea and Tom Zbikowski exited after the Colts' first defensive possession. Indianapolis forced a three-and-out.
Drew Stanton, who missed the game last week in Washington, led the Colts' second possession. Luck, running back Donald Brown and wide receiver Reggie Wayne exited the game after the club's first drive. Luck was one-of-two for eight yards. For the preseason, Luck hit 41-of-66 passes for 522 yards, with three touchdowns and two interceptions. After one first down, a holding call dampened the drive, forcing a McAfee 39-yard punt.
Mike Nugent hit a 37-yard field goal to end the Bengals' first possession. The drive was 12 plays, 69 yards in 5:18. The Bengals had 41 rushing yards on the drive. Linebacker Robert Mathis hit Cincinnati quarterback Andy Dalton on the drive, knocking him from the game with a bruised arm.
After a first down by penalty on the first play, Indianapolis failed to move the ball. Pat McAfee punted for 51 yards and the return unit nailed the returnman for a seven-yard loss.
Indianapolis won the toss and elected to receive. Cincinnati defended the north goal.
COLTS PRE-GAME REPORT
This is the 12th straight year the clubs are meeting in preseason. This is the 10th straight year the teams have met to close preseason. Cincinnati holds a 13-7 preseason series edge, while the Colts are 16-9 in league and post-season play against the Bengals. The teams met twice in Cincinnati last year with the Colts winning in preseason, 17-13. The Bengals won the regular season meeting, 27-17.
Colts GM Ryan Grigson was a sixth-round Cincinnati draft pick in 1995. LB Coach Jeff FitzGerald held the same role with Cincinnati last year and G-Mike McGlynn played for Bengals last year.
Grigson has orchestrated seven trades during the off-season, netting eight players. Four of those players were cornerbacks – Cassius Vaughn, Josh Gordy, D.J. Johnson and Vontae Davis.
Bengals DE-Jamaal Anderson was with Colts last year and had TD fumble return vs. Pittsburgh.
Colts players not participating in the game are:
The Colts are wearing their traditional home blue jerseys tonight, after wearing white in the preseason opener at home vs. St. Louis.
EXPECTED LINEUP CHANGES FOR COLTS:
Seth Olsen starts at RG for Mike McGlynn
Jeff Linkenbach starts at LG for Joe Reitz
Donnie Avery starts at WR for Austin Collie
Ricardo Mathews starts at DE for Cory Redding
Justin Hickman starts at Rush LB for Dwight Freeney
Cassius Vaughn starts at LCB for Justin King
D.J. Johnson starts at RCB for Jerraud Powers
The roof and window for Lucas Oil Stadium are open.
