This past Sunday, the 4th of January, 2015, we had the AFC Wild Card game. The 10-5-1 Cincinnati Bengals (AFC North) took on the 11-5 Indianapolis Colt (AFC South). The game was played at the Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana and was seen on CBS TV. Let’s recap how the Colts beat the Bengals in this matchup.
The Colts won the game 26-10 over the Bengals, as Colts QB Luck passed for some 376 yards and a TD, and now with the victory the Colts move on to the next round of the NFL playoffs. The Colts scored 7 points in the first quarter and 6 points in the 2nd quarter, while the Bengals also scored 7 points in the 1st quarter, and 3 points in the 2nd quarter, so the game went to half-time Colts 13 Bengals 10. In the 2nd half and 3rd quarter the Colts score 10 points, and in the 4th they score 3 points, while the Bengals went scoreless in both the 3rd and 4th quarter, thus the final score was Colts 26 and Bengals 10.
The Colts dominated more than the scoreboard, as the statistics also favored their win. The Colts had 22-1st downs, with 15 passing, 6 rushing and 1 penalty 1st downs. They had a total of 70 offensive plays for 482 total yards, with 368 passing and 114 rushing with 1 turnover, and ball possession for 34:10 minutes of the game.
Thus, if you compare the stats, the Bengals only had 14 first downs, with 7 passing, 6 rushing and 1 penalty first downs. They had 59 plays for 254 total yards, with 144 passing and 110 rushing with 1 turnover, and had ball possession for some 25:50 minutes of the game.
Comparing the offensive statistics for both teams also leaves the impression that the Colts deserved to win this game, as the offensive leaders for Indianapolis was QB Luck, who completed 31 of his 44 pass attempts for 376 yards with 1 TD, no interceptions but was sacked 1 time for a loss of 8 yards. RB’s Herron & Tipton combined for 23 carries for 96 yards, with Herron scoring 1 TD. Receivers Hilton & Herron combined for 16 receptions for 188 yards and no touchdowns.
The offensive leaders in the game for Cincinnati was QB Dalton, who completed 18 of his 35 pass attempts for 155 yards, with no touchdowns and was sacked 3 time for a loss of 11 total yards. RB Hill & QB Dalton combined for 17 carries for 81 yards with Hill scoring 1 TD. Receivers Bernard & Hewitt combined for 11 receptions for 83 yards and no touchdowns.
If you bet on NFL at an offshore betting site, you may be interesting in knowing that Bengals have not won a playoff game since back in 1991, and they now are the 1st team in the history of NFK to have lost 4 straight opening round playoff games. Additionally, the Bengals QB Dalton tied Warren Moon for the most opening round losses for a QB at 0-4!