The Cincinnati Bengals defeated the Indianapolis Colts 27-10 on Thursday night at Paul Brown Stadium, closing out the preseason schedule for both sides.
Colts vs. Bengals: Herron ‘tremendous’ in victory
Cincinnati played with some intensity, hammering the visiting Colts early and often en route to a win.
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In a battle between two playoff teams of a year ago, Cincinnati dominated for the most part. Considering it was a game played mostly by men who won’t see a ton of time come the regular season, the Bengals can at least feel good about their depth.
When Cincy's starters were in the game (first possession only), they drove for a touchdown, capped off by running back Giovani Bernard punching it in from a yard out. At Cincy Jungle, Josh Kirkendall talked about the other backs who are fighting for roster spots, including Rex Burkhead:
Despite the lack of overall production for Burkhead on the stat sheet, his runs had a greater impact with two fourth down conversions, a third down reception that converted a third and ten, and a touchdown. He added a 20-yard run on the final play of the preseason. Dan Herron made a tremendous argument with 51 yards rushing. As a team, the Bengals generated 191 yards rushing led by Herron and Burkhead.
For the Colts, it's simply a game to take film out on once and then move on. Andrew Luck never saw the field and most of the other starters watched from beginning to end on the sideline with him.
Josh Wilson of Stampede Blue pointed out one man he thought really showed up in crunch time for players on the roster bubble:
I think that tight end Dominique Jones actually has a much better shot at the roster than many people think. I'm not sure whether he ends up making the team or not, but he played well again tonight (catching 2 passes for 21 yards and a touchdown), finishing an impressive preseason overall for him. With the big questions at depth for receiver and with Dwayne Allen and Coby Fleener both currently recovering from injuries (they are expected to be ready week one, though), Jones may be a guy who ends up making the roster.
Cincinnati finished the preseason with a 3-1 record, while Indianapolis walked away 2-2.
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