INDIANAPOLIS – After waiting to nearly the stroke of midnight, the Colts know their Wild Card opponent.
The Colts (11-5) will welcome the Cincinnati Bengals (10-5-1) back to Lucas Oil Stadium for next Sunday's Wild Card matchup at 1:05 p.m. EST.
Also, here's a notebook look at the Colts 13th straight win in the AFC South.
Colts To Host Bengals In Wild Card Round
The Colts will host the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday (1/4) at 1:05 p.m. EST, on CBS, in their Wild Card matchup.
It will be a rematch of the Colts 27-0 Week Seven meeting with the Bengals.
In that game, the Colts forced eight straight three-and-outs and recorded their first shutout since the 2008 season.
The Colts piled up more than 500 yards of total offense with 171 rushing yards.
Cincinnati did not have wide receiver A.J. Green in the first meeting and since then rookie running back Jeremy Hill has emerged as a serious load in the Bengals backfield (just four carries in the first meeting).
Here is the complete playoff schedule:Wild Card
Sat, Jan 3 at 4:35pm ET on ESPN - Arizona at Carolina
Sat, Jan 3 at 8:15pm ET on NBC - Baltimore at Pittsburgh
Sun, Jan 4 at 1:05pm ET on CBS - Cincinnati at Indianapolis
Sun, Jan 4 at 4:40pm ET on FOX - Detroit at Dallas
Divisional
Sat, Jan 10 at 4:35pm ET on NBC - TBD at New England (lowest remaining AFC seed)
Sat, Jan 10 at 8:15pm ET on FOX - TBD at Seattle (lowest remaining NFC seed)
Sun, Jan 11 at 1:05pm ET on FOX - TBD at Green Bay (highest remaining NFC seed)
Sun, Jan 11 at 4:40pm ET on CBS - TBD at Denver (highest remaining AFC seed)
Championship
Sun, Jan 18 at 3:05pm ET on FOX - NFC Championship Game
Sun, Jan 18 at 6:40pm ET on CBS - AFC Championship Game
Andrew Luck, Reggie Wayne Part Of Record Day
In each of the last two weeks, Andrew Luck hasn't seen the field in the fourth quarter.
However, this Sunday's spectating from late in the game was much more enjoyable for the Colts third-year quarterback.
It was a productive afternoon for Luck with the Colts offense producing 17 points in the first two quarters.
Individually, Luck set the Colts franchise-record for passing yards in a single season (4,761).
The record breaker came on a spectacular 80-yard catch and run by Reggie Wayne in the second quarter.
"Great milestone, great record for Andrew, but very fitting it was 87 on the other end of that," Chuck Pagano said after handing Luck a game ball.
"What a great play, what a great catch. In traffic, over the shoulder, all that stuff. Right when you get ready to write somebody off, just be careful."
Wayne did feel a "twinge" in his groin following his career-long reception. After the game, Wayne was adamant that the injury would not impact him playing in the Wild Card round.
"I'll be ready next week," Wayne said after the Colts regular season finale.
"It's crunch time. You ain't got time to sit down and cheer."
Jonathan Newsome Records Multi-Sack Afternoon
Back when the Colts drafted Jonathan Newsome in the fifth round of the 2014 draft, his role in a deep outside linebacker group was an intriguing offseason storyline.
Watching Newsome operate at Training Camp in Anderson and it was clear that this talent was going to find his way onto the field a lot in 2014.
Newsome added two more sacks on Sunday and ended the 2014 season as the Colts leading sacker (6.5 sacks on the year).
"You could start to see him take off like a lot of our young guys," Pagano said after the game.
"We credit the coaches for developing these guys and credit Jon for sticking to the process. A lot of these guys come in and they hit the rookie wall and it's a long, long season and it's great to see guys like him and a guy like (Zurlon Tipton) come in and do some nice things on offense for us.
"We need that production and we're going to need that production into the playoffs, so proud of Jon and what he's been able to do."
Despite being chosen in the fifth round, Newsome finished the year as the NFL's second leading sacker among rookies.
"Definitely there was improvement," Newsome says of his own pass rushing. "I wanted to get four sacks individually (on Sunday), but I missed a couple.
"I am never satisfied. That was a good showing, but we have to turn it up some more for the playoffs."
Adam Vinatieri's Perfect Season Comes To A Close
The body language from Adam Vinatieri told the story.
On his 42nd birthday, there was Vinatieri trying to coax his 46-yard third-quarter field goal attempt inside the left upright.
The extra body language was to no avail though.
After connecting on 29-of-29 field goals to start 2014, Vinatieri's hope to become the fifth player in NFL history with a perfect season ended on a dreary afternoon in Nashville.
Vinatieri, who earned his third Pro Bowl nod of his career last week, is now fourth in league history with his streak of 35 straight field goals made.
"He's incredible, for a guy that turns 42 today and for him play at the level and kick at the level he has kicked at this year," Pagano said after the game of Vinatieri.
"Unfortunately, he did have his first miss of the season. There were tough conditions out there, weather wise and things like that, I am using it but he will never use that as an excuse. He has been remarkable. It has been an honor and very humbling to watch him from the sideline. I am a fan and feel lucky along with everyone else that has had a front row seat watching him this year. It has been pretty remarkable."
