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The final week of the preseason is finally here!
The Cincinnati Bengals wrap up the preseason on Thursday with the annual I-74 battle against the Indianapolis Colts.
Regular season football is so close, you can almost taste it! Skyline, anyone?
But back to the game tonight... This has become one of the longest-standing preseason rivalries you’ll find in the NFL, as both teams are just around three hours apart in distance. Since 1992, the Bengals and Colts have played every year except 2000 in the preseason. All 25 preseason games between the two franchises have taken place since the Colts moved to Indianapolis from Baltimore.
As is normally the case with the fourth preseason games, the starters will play very little, if at all in this game. That may be even more true this year since the Bengals and Colts have a regular-season matchup in Cincinnati on Oct. 29.
While the heavy hitters may sit this game out, the fourth preseason game still sports a host of compelling storylines, mainly on fringe players looking to secure their spot on the 53-man roster.
Among the Bengals sitting squarely on the roster bubble include Tra Carson, Marcus Hardison, Christian Westerman, J.J. Dielman, Will Clarke, DeShawn Williams, P.J. Dawson, Demetrious Cox, KeiVarae Russell and Bene Benwikere. Most of those guys are still eligible for the practice squad, though they’d much rather win a spot on the 53-man roster and be able to play on Sundays.
All of those players could very well win or lose jobs with how well they perform Thursday. This is why the preseason finale is so critical, even though it never draws much national fanfare.
We also could see just the second preseason game for John Ross, who made his debut in Washington this past Sunday. The ninth-overall pick of the 2017 NFL Draft has been brought along slowly while recovering from shoulder surgery, but he should probably get some run Thursday as he looks to carve out a big role in this offense.
Here is everything you’ll need to watch and follow the Bengals’ preseason finale.
How to Watch Cincinnati Bengals at Indianapolis Colts
Date: Thursday, August 31, 2017
Time: 7:00 p.m. ET
Location: Lucas Oil Stadium
TV Channel: WKRC-TV (CBS Ch. 12) in Cincinnati, WKEF-TV (ABC Ch. 22) in Dayton, WSYXTV (ABC Ch. 6) in Columbus, WLIO-TV (FOX Ch. 8.2) in Lima, WDKY-TV FOX Ch. 56) in Lexington, Ky. and WDRB-TV (FOX Ch. 41) in Louisville, Ky.
Check out 506sports.com for full listings in surrounding areas
Announcers: Bengals Preseason Network coverage features Brad Johansen (play-by-play), Anthony Munoz (analyst) and Mike Valpredo (sideline reporter).
Online Stream: NFL Game Pass
Radio: Coverage on the Bengals Radio Network, led by Cincinnati flagship stations WCKY-AM (ESPN 1530), WLW-AM (700) and WEBN-FM (102.7). Broadcasters are Dan Hoard (play-by-play) and Dave Lapham (analyst).
Odds: Indianapolis (-2), Over/Under 36.5, via OddsShark.com.
Replay: Saturday, Sept. 2, 7:30 a.m. on NFL Network. You can also watch a replay with NFL Game Pass.
Bengals 90 Man Roster 2017
| 61 | Bodine, Russell | C | 6-3 | 308 | 25 | 4 | North Carolina |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 61 | Bodine, Russell | C | 6-3 | 308 | 25 | 4 | North Carolina |
| 60 | Johnson, T.J. | C | 6-4 | 300 | 27 | 4 | South Carolina |
| 23 | Benwikere, Bene | CB | 6-0 | 195 | 25 | 4 | San Jose State |
| 21 | Dennard, Darqueze | CB | 5-11 | 198 | 25 | 4 | Michigan State |
| 22 | Jackson, William | CB | 6-0 | 187 | 24 | 2 | Houston |
| 24 | Jones, Adam | CB | 5-10 | 180 | 33 | 11 | West Virginia |
| 27 | Kirkpatrick, Dre | CB | 6-2 | 185 | 27 | 6 | Alabama |
| 29 | McRae, Tony | CB | 5-10 | 185 | 24 | 1 | North Carolina A&T |
| 20 | Russell, KeiVarae | CB | 5-11 | 196 | 23 | 2 | Notre Dame |
| 26 | Shaw, Josh | CB | 6-1 | 200 | 25 | 3 | Southern California |
| 37 | Cox, Demetrious | DB | 6-1 | 198 | 23 | R | Michigan State |
| 76 | Brown, Ryan | DE | 6-6 | 276 | 23 | 1 | Mississippi State |
| 93 | Clarke, Will | DE | 6-6 | 280 | 26 | 4 | West Virginia |
| 96 | Dunlap, Carlos | DE | 6-6 | 280 | 28 | 8 | Florida |
| 95 | Gilberry, Wallace | DE | 6-2 | 270 | 32 | 10 | Alabama |
| 91 | Hardison, Marcus | DE | 6-3 | 310 | 25 | 3 | Arizona State |
| 90 | Johnson, Michael | DE | 6-7 | 272 | 30 | 9 | Georgia Tech |
| 94 | Smith, Chris | DE | 6-1 | 266 | 25 | 4 | Arkansas |
| 99 | Willis, Jordan | DE | 6-4 | 255 | 22 | R | Kansas State |
| 97 | Atkins, Geno | DT | 6-1 | 300 | 29 | 8 | Georgia |
| 75 | Billings, Andrew | DT | 6-1 | 325 | 22 | 2 | Baylor |
| 79 | Dean, David | DT | 6-1 | 302 | 24 | 1 | Virginia |
| 67 | Glasgow, Ryan | DT | 6-3 | 302 | 23 | R | Michigan |
| 92 | Sims, Pat | DT | 6-2 | 330 | 31 | 10 | Auburn |
| 68 | Tupou, Josh | DT | 6-3 | 350 | 23 | R | Colorado |
| 69 | Williams, DeShawn | DT | 6-1 | 295 | 24 | 2 | Clemson |
| 44 | Laufasa, Darrin | FB | 6-1 | 235 | 22 | R | Texas-El Paso |
| 65 | Boling, Clint | G | 6-5 | 305 | 28 | 7 | Georgia |
| 64 | Dielman, J.J | G | 6-5 | 309 | 23 | R | Utah |
| 66 | Hopkins, Trey | G | 6-3 | 310 | 25 | 2 | Texas |
| 79 | Lee, Cameron | G | 6-5 | 312 | 23 | R | Illinois State |
| 62 | Redmond, Alex | G | 6-5 | 310 | 22 | 1 | UCLA |
| 71 | Smith, Andre | G | 6-4 | 325 | 30 | 9 | Alabama |
| 72 | Stanton, Dustin | G | 6-4 | 298 | 23 | R | Oregon State |
| 63 | Westerman, Christian | G | 6-3 | 300 | 24 | 2 | Arizona State |
| 82 | Carter, Cethan | H-B | 6-3 | 241 | 23 | R | Nebraska |
| 89 | Hewitt, Ryan | H-B | 6-4 | 255 | 26 | 4 | Stanford |
| 25 | Bernard, Giovani | HB | 5-9 | 205 | 25 | 5 | North Carolina |
| 32 | Hill, Jeremy | HB | 6-1 | 235 | 24 | 4 | Louisiana State |
| 28 | Mixon, Joe | HB | 6-1 | 228 | 21 | R | Oklahoma |
| 30 | Peerman, Cedric | HB | 5-10 | 212 | 30 | 8 | Virginia |
| 39 | Williams, Jarveon | HB | 5-9 | 202 | 22 | R | Texas- San Antonio |
| 4 | Bullock, Randy | K | 5-9 | 206 | 27 | 6 | Texas A&M |
| 3 | Elliott, Jake | K | 5-9 | 167 | 22 | R | Memphis |
| 49 | Albright, Bryson | LB | 6-5 | 225 | 23 | 1 | Miami (Ohio) |
| 52 | Bell, Brandon | LB | 6-1 | 229 | 22 | R | Penn State |
| 55 | Burfict, Vontaze | LB | 6-1 | 255 | 26 | 6 | Arizona State |
| 47 | Dawson, P.J. | LB | 6-0 | 240 | 24 | 2 | Texas Christian |
| 50 | Evans, Jordan | LB | 6-2 | 233 | 22 | R | Oklahoma |
| 53 | Flowers, Marquis | LB | 6-3 | 245 | 25 | 4 | Arizona |
| 58 | Lawson, Carl | LB | 6-2 | 261 | 22 | R | Auburn |
| 51 | Minter, Kevin | LB | 6-0 | 246 | 26 | 5 | LSU |
| 56 | Nickerson, Hardy | LB | 6-0 | 232 | 23 | R | Illinois |
| 57 | Rey, Vincent | LB | 6-0 | 250 | 29 | 7 | Duke |
| 59 | Vigil, Nick | LB | 6-2 | 239 | 23 | 2 | Utah State |
| 46 | Harris, Clark | LS | 6-5 | 250 | 33 | 9 | Rutgers |
| 74 | Fisher, Jake | OT | 6-6 | 305 | 24 | 3 | Oregon |
| 77 | Lechler, Landon | OT | 6-7 | 317 | 23 | R | North Dakota State |
| 70 | Ogbuehi, Cedric | OT | 6-5 | 310 | 25 | 3 | Texas A&M |
| 78 | Perkins, Kent | OT | 6-5 | 320 | 22 | R | Texas |
| 73 | Winston, Eric | OT | 6-7 | 310 | 33 | 11 | Miami (Fla.) |
| 10 | Huber, Kevin | P | 6-1 | 211 | 32 | 9 | Cincinnati |
| # | NAME | POS. | HT. | WT. | AGE | EXP. | COLLEGE |
| 14 | Dalton, Andy | QB | 6-2 | 220 | 29 | 7 | Texas Christian |
| 6 | Driskel, Jeff | QB | 6-4 | 231 | 24 | 2 | Louisiana Tech |
| 5 | McCarron, AJ | QB | 6-3 | 220 | 26 | 3 | Alabama |
| 33 | Carson, Tra | RB | 5-11 | 231 | 24 | 1 | Texas A&M |
| 42 | Fejedelem, Clayton | S | 6-0 | 205 | 24 | 2 | Illinois |
| 43 | Iloka, George | S | 6-4 | 225 | 27 | 6 | Boise State |
| 31 | Smith, Derron | S | 5-10 | 200 | 25 | 3 | Fresno State |
| 36 | Williams, Shawn | S | 6-0 | 210 | 26 | 5 | Georgia |
| 40 | Wilson, Brandon | S | 5-11 | 200 | 23 | R | Houston |
| 85 | Eifert, Tyler | TE | 6-6 | 255 | 26 | 5 | Notre Dame |
| 81 | Kroft, Tyler | TE | 6-6 | 250 | 24 | 3 | Rutgers |
| 86 | Schreck, Mason | TE | 6-5 | 258 | 23 | R | Buffalo |
| 87 | Uzomah, C.J. | TE | 6-6 | 265 | 24 | 3 | Auburn |
| 83 | Boyd, Tyler | WR | 6-2 | 197 | 22 | 2 | Pittsburgh |
| 88 | Brown, Chris | WR | 6-1 | 191 | 23 | 2 | Notre Dame |
| 16 | Core, Cody | WR | 6-3 | 210 | 23 | 2 | Mississippi |
| 12 | Erickson, Alex | WR | 6-0 | 195 | 24 | 2 | Wisconsin |
| 18 | Green, A.J. | WR | 6-4 | 210 | 29 | 7 | Georgia |
| 11 | LaFell, Brandon | WR | 6-3 | 210 | 30 | 8 | Louisiana State |
| 80 | Malone, Josh | WR | 6-3 | 208 | 21 | R | Tennessee |
| 15 | Ross, John | WR | 5-11 | 188 | 22 | R | Washington |
| 17 | Russell, Alonzo | WR | 6-4 | 206 | 24 | 1 | Toledo |
| 13 | Whitfield, Kermit | WR | 5-8 | 184 | 23 | R | Florida State |