Indianapolis Colts vs. Cincinnati Bengals
The Indianapolis Colts have been struggling mightily as they travel to square off with the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 8 of the NFL season. The Bengals are coming off of a tough 29-14 road loss to AFC North rival Pittsburgh Steelers.
Cincinnati had been on a two-game winning streak after losing the first three games of their season. The Colts are coming off of a 27-0 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars last week.
Indianapolis gave up 188 rushing yards to Jacksonville in Week 7 despite the fact that the Jaguars first-round running back Leonard Fournette was out with injury. The Colts have now lost consecutive games within their division and are being outscored 66-22 in those games.
Keys to Victory
The Colts are going to need to find a way to tighten up their secondary, particularly when it comes to facing A.J. Green. Green is by far the most devastating player on Cincinnati’s offense, averaging 90.8 yards per game through six games. He had also scored a touchdown in three consecutive weeks before being kept out of the end zone last week.
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To compare, no other Bengal player is even averaging 30 receiving yards per game. Additionally, the Colts’ leading receiver T.Y. Hilton is averaging 73.1 yards per game and has scored just one touchdown. In two career games against the Colts, Green has 123 yards on 11 receptions and two touchdowns. If the Colts can find a way to slow Green down it will be devastating to the Bengals offensive plan.
Quarterback Andy Dalton has had a roller coaster of a season so far. After throwing four interceptions in their opening game, Dalton went three weeks without throwing a single pick (although they still lost two of those three games). However, Dalton has now thrown two interceptions in each of his last two games. The difference is, Dalton was making terrible throws in his four-interception opener but should not be judged as harshly when looking at his most recent picks.
Of the four interceptions Dalton has thrown in the last two weeks, three of those were batted up by his receiver before being picked off by the opposing defense. In fact, all three were batted up by none other than Green himself. Two passes were slightly off target when Green batted them up but one hit him directly between the numbers. Whether the problem lies with Green’s hands or miscommunication between the two, it is necessary the Bengals find a way to stop this growing habit.
Betting Odds
Point Spread: Cincinnati -11
Moneyline: Cincinnati -550, Indianapolis +416
Over/Under: 41.5
All betting odds provided by BookMaker via the Sportsbook Review
Next: NFL Week 8: One burning question for each team
Prediction
The Colts have won the last two meetings between these teams by an average score of 27-5. However, both of those games were played in Indianapolis. In the last two games in this series played in Cincinnati, the Bengals have won both and outscored the Colts 69-45. With Andrew Luck suffering a setback in his shoulder, the Colts are no longer simply just trying to win enough for Luck to be able to come in and save them. There is a chance Luck does not play this season at all and Indianapolis needs to find a way to win now or miss the playoffs for the third consecutive season.
Final Score: Indianapolis Colts: 16, Cincinnati Bengals: 28