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A late season matchup between two teams who are leading their division and fighting for position in the AFC seeding battle. The Colts come in as 6.5 point underdogs and the over under is 43.
| Name | Pick | Score | Blurb |
| Elliot Harrison - NFL.com |  |
24 - 17 | If you've been watching Colts football for the past month, we're sorry. Indy has flat-out played poorly. If you doubted whether Reggie Wayne was a Hall of Fame-caliber player before, check out these numbers:
Luck with Wayne: Five wins, two losses, completion percentage of 60.7, 7.03 yards per attempt, touchdown-to-interception ratio of 10:3, passer rating of 91.3. Luck without Wayne: Three wins, two losses, completion percentage of 55.2, 6.28 yards per attempt, touchdown-to-interception ratio of 5:5, passer rating of 72.1. Meanwhile, the Bengals have gotten solid play all year out of their defense, particularly when it comes to Vontaze Burfict. Except for the penalties he's incurred, Burfict has performed at an All-Pro level, and he'll put Donald Brown on his back aplenty. We like this game to be close, but Cincy moves to 9-4 |
| Don Banks - SI | |
30 - 23 |
Colts outside linebacker Robert Mathis could make some meaningful team history against the Bengals, needing one more sack to pass ex-teammate Dwight Freeney as both the career sack leader for Indianapolis and single-season record holder. Mathis has an NFL-best 15.5 sacks, and 107 in his 11-year career, while Freeney recorded 16 sacks in 2004 and had 107.5 in his 11 seasons in Indy ('02-12). Last week in the win against Tennessee, Mathis had a strip-sack of Titans quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, his career signature move. It was his 41st strip sack overall, an NFL record. Mathis may not get the top vote in the NFL's Defensive Player of the Year balloting with stiff competition from Carolina linebacker Luke Kuechly and Texans defensive end J.J. Watt, but earning the inaugural Deacon Jones Award for leading the league in sacks would be quite the consolation prize. Not bad for a 32-year-old who was taken in the fifth round in 2003, besting the sack exploits of Freeney, the Colts' first-round pick in '02. |
| Pete Prisco - CBS |
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26 - 14 | This is a huge game in terms of playoff seeding; the winner will likely have the No. 3 seed in the AFC. The Colts won last week, but they aren't playing well. Cincinnati is playing good defense, which will be the difference in this one. Bengals get all over Andrew Luck. His line is bad. The Colts can't stop the run either. |
| Coley Harvey - ESPN | |
28 - 21 | Cincinnati is finally rolling again. The Bengals' defense has been great all year, particularly at home, and their offense has finally begun finding an identity. With playoff seeding on the line, the Bengals will win. |
| Mike Wells - ESPN | |
24 - 13 | The Colts have too many issues that are not quick fixes to be able to go on the road and beat a Cincinnati team that's undefeated at home. Goodbye No. 3 seed and hello No. 4 seed in the AFC for the Colts. |
| Greg Cote - Miami Herald | |
27 - 20 | Duel of division leaders finds both teams in strong playoff position and Indy able to clinch with a win here, or if Tennessee loses. Colts winning will be the tough part. Media darling Andrew Luck hasn't been very good lately - he's 2-5 on TDs/picks with a 66.7 rating his past four games - and now his O-line is hurting. Cincy also brings a big, balanced ground game vs. Nags' 28th-ranked run defense. And 'Gals are 5-0 at home. |
| Mike Florio - ProFootballTalk | |
31 - 17 | This game may determine which team gets the AFC No. 3 seed and which gets the No. 4 seed - which is big, because hosting the AFC No. 6 seed will be a much better first-round playoff draw than hosting the likely No. 5 seed, Kansas City. Unfortunately for Indianapolis, the Colts just have too many injuries and I can't see them beating a good team on the road. |
| Michael David Smith - ProFootballTalk | |
28 - 14 | Cincy hasn't lost at home all year. The Colts haven't looked good since they beat the Broncos and Peyton Manning at home in October. And yet they're both 8-4. That'll change on Sunday, possibly in a big way. |
Then there are the experts that pick the winners without a score projection or a writeup. Some of those are here:
| Media Guy | Pick |
| Marcus Allen - ESPN |  |
| Mike Golic - ESPN | |
| Merril Hoge - ESPN | |
| Ron Jaworski - ESPN | |
| Chris Mortensen - ESPN | |
| Adam Schefter - ESPN | |
| Mark Schlereth - ESPN | |
| Tom Jackson - ESPN | |
| Keyshawn Johnson - ESPN | |
| Mike Ditka - ESPN |
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| Chris Carter - ESPN | |
| Jason La Canfora - CBS | |
| Josh Katzowitz - CBS | |
| Ryan Wilson - CBS | |
When I ran the simulation at WhatIfSports.com, The Bengals find themselves on the right side of the score board.
