The Bengals never really had much of a chance in this football game.  Carson Palmer had an off-night as he hit 14 of 28 passes for 176 yards and had 1 carry for 11 yards.  Rudi Johnson played hard and carried the ball 22 times for 79 yards (3.6 ypc) and a TD.  Kenny Watson carried the ball 4 times for 30 yards (7.5 ypc) and caught 3 passes for 56 yards.  TJ Houshmandzadeh (4 rec, 49 yards) and Chad Johnson (3 rec, 37 yards) both had off games.

Brian Simmons led the way for the Bengals with 11 tackles.  The Colts ran the ball 29 times for 112 yards (3.9 ypc).  The Bengals couldn’t stop the Colts passing game as they hit 29 of 36 passes for 282 net yards passing.

The Bengals fell to 8-6 with this loss.  This will do some damage to their playoff hopes.

The Bengals have been on fire lately and have won for straight by a combined score of 101-33!  The Colts have lost 2 in a row and 3 of their last 4 games.

The Bengals will give the ball to Rudi Johnson early and often.  The Colts are allowing 176.5 yards rushing per game and 5.4 yards per carry.  Johnson (1,054 yards rushing) should get 25+ carries and the Bengals are 17-0 when Johnson totes the rock at least 25 times in a game.  Don’t think for a minute that Carson Palmer won’t be coming after the Colts secondary too.  Chad Johnson (77 rec, 1,247 yards) and TJ Houshmandzadeh (73 rec, 894 yards) should have big games on Monday Night.  Chris Henry will be the secret weapon for Palmer as he has caught 7 TDs this season.

The Colts would love to try to pound Joseph Addai (867 yards rushing) and Dominic Rhodes (532 yards rushing) at the interior of the Bengals defense which has allowed 109.0 yards rushing per game and 4.2 yards per carry.  The Colts would be smart to run the ball to keep the Bengals offense on the sideline, because the Bengals might score every time they get the ball.  The Bengals are giving up 238.5 net yards passing per game, so Peyton Manning (3,628 yards passing) should get his yards as long as the Colts line keeps him clean.  Marvin Harrison (74 rec, 1,094 yards) and Reggie Wayne (70 rec, 1,129 yards) should have big games.

This should be a shoot-out similar to last seasons contest won by the Colts 45-37.  I have a feeling that the Bengals are going to turn the tables on them this time and win the game.

The Bengals Ends have been applying serious pressure on opponents QBs causing them to take sacks or make mistakes.  Justin Smith has 61 tackles, 7 sacks and 2 fumble recoveries so far this season.  Robert Geathers is on the other side and he’s been busting QBs up….just ask Trent Green!  He has 34 tackles and 10.5 sacks so far this season.

These guys have been a key to the improvement of the defense as of late.

The Bengals safeties have been taking the ball away from opponents all season long.  Madieu Williams is having a great season with 74 tackles and 3 interceptions.  He also isn’t shy about helping out on run support.  Kevin Kaesviharn has done a fantastic job after taking over for Dexter Jackson (injured).  KK has 49 tackles, 3.5 sacks and 6 interceptions.  Teams will probably start shying away from the safeties and go after the Bengals corners more.

Reserve WR Kelley Washington (hamstring) will be out for this week’s game with the Indianapolis Colts.  Coach Lewis hinted that Washington could be placed on IR if he doesn’t return to practice soon.