Bengals vs. Colts: Cincinnati rallies for Week 1 win

The Bengals start off the 2018 season on the right foot as they defeat the Colts 34-23. Here is what happened during the game.

Final: Bengals win 34-23

Fourth Quarter:

he Bengals answer back with Joe Mixon’s first rushing touchdown of 2018 as he dove over the line of scrimmage. The Bengals now lead 24-23. Cincinnati was aided by three defensive penalties on the drive. Also rookie defensive end Sam Hubbard was the Full back on the Mixon touchdown, which may be something to keep an eye on. Mixon has 90 rushing yard on the day as well as 49 receiving to go along with that touchdown.

Mixon also added this dance following his touchdown. Showing his love for one of Drake’s most recent hits.

Cincinnati adds to their lead with a Randy Bullock field goal. He has hit on two attempts today. The Bengals now lead the Colts 27-23.

The Bengals may have sealed this one up! Safety Clayton Fejedelem returned a fumble for a touchdown to give the Bengals a two score advantage with less than a minute left. Fejedelem forced the fumble as well. He was in because of Williams being ejected earlier in the game for his hit on Luck. He ran the ball back 83-yards as the Colts were close to taking the lead in the final seconds. Fejedelem also was the one who picked up the fumble that Dunlap caused that was called back. He has been all over the field after a slow start.

Third Quarter:

The Colts started the third quarter with the ball, but the good news is that allowed Geno Atkins to shutdown their drive with his first sack of the season. Unfortunately, The Bengals next drive was also set back when Andy Dalton was sacked.

The Bengals defense continues to struggle getting off the field on third down as Luck and the Colts’ offense moves the ball methodically down the field for a touchdown. Luck threw a quick slant to T.Y. Hilton inside the 10 yard line. It was Luck’s second touchdown of the game and Hilton’s first. The Colts now lead 23-10.

The Bengals answered right back with A.J. Green’s first touchdown of the season as he out ran two Colts’ defenders to the end zone. The Colts lead has been cut to just six. It was a 75-yard drive and a 38 yard touchdown throw for Dalton, which is his second of the game. Green has four catches for 62 yards on the day so far.

The Colts were aided in their next drive by a questionable roughing the passer on Carlos Dunlap as he forced a fumble. The Colts attempted a 55-yard field goal, but it came up short. Andrew Billings also left the game during that drive with an injury, but his return is probable.

Halftime:

At halftime, the Colts have a 16-10 lead.

Second Quarter:

The Bengals’ defense keeps getting burned on third down, and the defensive line is struggling to make an impact. The Colts get another field goal and now lead 13-3 with less than four minutes left in the half.

The Colts took the lead with just about 12 minutes remaining in the half on a 26 yard touchdown pass from Luck to tight end Eric Ebron. Jordan Evans was in coverage on the touchdown but didn’t do much of anything to prevent it from happening.

The Colts had a 10-3 lead, which they later extended to 13-3 after a 38-yard Adam Vinatieri field goal.

Before the end of the first half, John Ross scored his first regular season touchdown on a three-yard pass from Andy Dalton.

Unfortunately, when the Bengals defense took the field again, Preston Brown was injured. But, the Bengals said he was probable to return with an ankle injury.

Shortly after the injury, the Colts scored a field goal and took a 16-10 lead into halftime.

First quarter:

Andy Dalton’s first pass of the 2018 NFL season was intercepted, but the Bengals quickly got the ball back as Preston Brown made an incredible play, intercepting Andrew Luck in the red zone. It was Luck’s first pass of the year, too.

Welcome to the Bengals, Preston Brown!

On the next drive, the Bengals scored their first points of the year on a Randy Bullock 42-yard field goal. The Bengals took an early 3-0 lead.

Shawn Williams was soon after ejected due to a hit to the helmet on Colts quarterback Andrew Luck. It was an obvious situation for him to be flagged on as the officials were standing right there and he came in late with the hit.

The Bengals were not lucky in the first quarter and A.J. Green fumbled away the ball with 11 seconds remaining in the first quarter, giving the Colts back the ball. It was unlucky and not fun to watch.

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It is time for the Bengals to begin their 2018 campaign. Will it be one to remember? We’re surely hoping so!

We’ve seen plenty of change from the Bengals over the offseason, but the formula remains pretty much intact. Marvin Lewis is still the head coach, and the team will be relying on Andy Dalton and A.J. Green on offense. Also, Geno Atkins remains the catalyst of the defense.

However, we will see the team rely more on their young talent early on in the season than previously. First round picks from 2017 — running back Joe Mixon and wide receiver John Ross — look to be relied upon on offense along with rookie center Billy Price.

On the defensive side, we should see a nice mix of young defensive players either being major contributors or rotated in. The biggest surprise out of the is Jessie Bates III starting at safety after taking George Iloka’s spot on the roster.

The Colts are restarting the Andrew Luck era after a brief injury hiatus. To help him out, they drafted what many believe to be the best offensive lineman in the draft in Quenton Nelson at guard. The rookie may not be enough though, as Luck will likely have be plenty occupied in the pocket the Bengals defensive line looking as good as ever.

Will the Bengals be able to ruin the welcome back party for luck in Indianapolis? Here’s how you can watch it unfold:

How to watch Bengals at Colts

Date/Time: Sep. 9th, 2018 at 1 p.m. EST

Location: Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, IN

Series Leader: Colts, 19-11

Streak: The Bengals have won three of the last five.

Coaches vs. Opponent: Marvin Lewis: 3-6. Frank Reich: 0-0

TV Broadcast: The game will air on CBS-TV. Broadcasters are Andrew Catalon (play-by-play), James Lofton (analyst) and Jane Slater (analyst). In the Bengals’ home region, it will be carried by WKRC-TV (Ch. 12) in Cincinnati, WHIO-TV (Ch. 7) in Dayton and on WKYT-TV (Ch. 27) in Lexington, Ky.

Radio Broadcast: The game will air on the Bengals Radio Network, led by Cincinnati flagship stations WCKY-AM (ESPN 1530; all sports) and WEBN-FM (102.7). Broadcasters are Dan Hoard (play-by-play) and Dave Lapham (analyst).

Online Stream: CBS All-Access NFL Gamepass

Replay: NFL Gamepass

SB Nation Colts site: Stampede Blue

Weather: Dome [NFL weather]

Odds: Bengals, +1.5 [Odds Shark]

TV coverage map (via 506sports.com)