Indianapolis Colts vs Cincinnati Bengals: Beyond the Box Score

Oct 19, 2014; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck (12) scrambles with Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Carlos Dunlap (96) chasing him down during the second quarter at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Pat Lovell-USA TODAY Sports

The Indianapolis Colts (5-2) took out the Cincinnati Bengals (3-2-1) in dominating fashion on Sunday by recording their first shut-out of the season in a 27-0 win.

While the offense struggled to get the ball going anywhere in the red zone, the defense had easily their best performance so far this season. Andy Dalton, typically an upper-tier quarterback, was held to just 126 yards in the air while just passing over 47 percent. Giovanni Bernard was held to just 17 yards on the ground while nothing could get going from the receiving unit.

On the other side of the ball, the offense was fairly efficient in almost every facet of the game other than finishing long drives. Andrew Luck looked really good other than a few errant passes. Perhaps what stood out most about the Colts on Sunday was how good the combined running attack was. Ahmad Bradshaw and Trent Richardson were efficient all day including two Bradshaw touchdowns (one rushing, one passing).

Here are some things that I noticed from Sunday’s game:

Solid running attack:

This running attack is not slowing down for the Colts and they’re looking really good at the moment. Trent Richardson finished the game with 77 yards on 14 total attempts and looked solid for every rush of the day (no negative yardage runs for TRich on the day). Ahmad Bradshaw contributed 52 yards on 10 carries in his time with the offense along with a touchdown on the ground and in the air. In the fourth quarter, Trent Richardson sat with what seemed to be a strained hamstring, opening the door for reserve back Dan Herron to rush five times for 37 yards to contribute to the Colts’ great ground game. Overall, the Colts ran for 174 yards for a stellar 7.1 YPC against a decent Cincinnati defense. Keep up this attack and the offense will continue to be as efficient as it was today.

Andrew Luck was Andrew Luck:

Is this guy ever going to slow down? He posted his fifth straight 300+yard game which ties a record set by his predecessor, Peyton Manning. Luck still has a couple decision making problems that he needs to figure out, but overall, this guy is absolutely going nuts this season. He’s spreading the field continuously and finding open guys on a consistent basis. He did, however, have a couple throws today that he’d like to take back, including an easily dropped interception on the opening drive that could have been detrimental to the stat sheet. However, this guy is the real deal.

Let’s start talking about this defense:

It’s no secret that the offense has been the forte of this team to this point in the season, but the defense made a definitive statement on Sunday afternoon that they too are elite. Sure, Cincinnati was playing without stud wideout A.J. Green, but they still couldn’t find a way to get first downs against this stifling Colts defense. The entire defensive line and linebacking unit was able to rush the Bengals’ offensive line the whole game and keep Andy Dalton on his toes. The receiving unit was blanketed for most of the game as well. However, Giovanni Bernard was held to just 17 yards on the ground and nothing in the air. Bernard is a top running back in the league behind an extremely good offensive line, but no one could get it going today. Credit Jerrell Freeman for solid middle linebacking play while D’Qwell Jackson also had a solid day in the run game. This defense is for real and is ready to be mentioned in the NFL’s conversation of elite defenses.

What happened to Reggie Wayne?:

It pains me to type this, but Reggie Wayne may be on his way out in Indianapolis. Luck still loves Wayne on third down, but the receiver just wasn’t coming up with receptions on the afternoon. He had four catches for just 15 yards, but his three drops were not something that Colts fans are used to seeing out of Wayne. If Wayne doesn’t want to be replaced by T.Y. Hilton as the No. 1 target in Indianapolis, he’s going to have to get his mits around the ball more securely and make the catches that we know he’s made a career of making. He’s much better than what the box score showed on Sunday, but in order to show that, he’ll need to step up his game.