The Indianapolis Colts are just where they want to be as they start the most crucial part of their season. The Cincinnati Bengals are just hoping their fortunes don’t turn from bad to worse.
The Colts start a stretch of three games in four weeks at Lucas Oil Stadium when the collapsing and feuding Bengals come calling Sunday afternoon.
Indianapolis (5-3) is tied for the top spot in the AFC South with the Tennessee Titans. The Colts are just one game ahead of the Jacksonville Jaguars and Houston Texans in a conference that has 11 teams playing .500 or better and just six playoff spots available.
The Colts can take comfort knowing they have won 18 of their last 19 games at home, including the playoffs.
The lone defeat was the final regular-season home game last season when head coach Jim Caldwell pulled quarterback Peyton Manning at the half since the 14-0 Colts had wrapped up home field for the playoffs. Indianapolis led 9-3 at the break but lost 29-15.
Despite injuries to a plethora of players, including cornerback Jerraud Powers, running backs Joseph Addai and Mike Hart, tight end Dallas Clark and wide receiver Anthony Gonzalez, the Colts have still dominated at home, outscoring the New York Giants, Kansas City Chiefs and Texans by a combined 87-40.
Last week, Manning threw for 287 yards on 31-of-52 passing, but he was picked off twice and sacked three times in a 26-24 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.
The Bengals (2-6) should be a good bounce-back game for Manning, although he’ll be without another one of his favorite weapons, wide receiver Austin Collie, who suffered a concussion against the Eagles.
Manning, the four-time league MVP, has won all six games against Cincinnati, completing 134 of 201 passes for 1,642 yards with 17 TDs against three interceptions and a 113.7 passer rating.
The defending AFC North champion Bengals have lost five straight by a total of just 27 points and are four games behind Pittsburgh and Baltimore. The losing is starting to show in the form of frustration between quarterback Carson Palmer and his star receiver – not bad boy Terrell Owens but Bengals all-time leading receiver Chad Ochocinco.
Ochocinco caught just one pass last week in a 27-21 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, but was seen in the huddle having a somewhat heated exchange with Palmer and was openly sulking on the sidelines. He has become an afterthought since Owens has arrived, catching 40 balls for just 473 yards this season.
Owens is having a spectacular season, averaging 96.3 receiving yards per game, third most in the NFL. He has 41 catches for 618 yards and seven TDs in his last five games. He caught two scoring passes against Pittsburgh, making him just the third player in NFL history to catch 150 touchdowns, behind Jerry Rice and Randy Moss.
The stingy Bengals defense of a season ago has disappeared. Cincinnati has yielded 23.8 points per game and 338.5 yards after surrendering 18.2 points and 301 yards a season ago.
And like most bad teams, the Bengals have found all kinds of ways to lose.
Pittsburgh converted points off a trick play, fumbled kick, blocked punt and missed field goal to build a 27-7 edge early in the fourth quarter last week.