The Indianapolis Colts will look to extend their win streak to 5 games on Sunday in a game that was once considered a gimme after Bengals pro-bowl QB Joe Burrow went down. Coming off a spectacular performance on the road against the Jaguars on Monday night, Bengals backup QB Jake Browning and company managed to put up 491 total yards in an overtime win. They were 8-14 on 3rd down, averaged 8.2 yards per pass, and averaged 5.0 yards per rush. This type of productivity certainly screams an offense that is ready for the playoffs. The question for the game this Sunday is was that Monday night game a fluke or are the Bengals just that good of a complimentary football team?

Regardless if the production was a fluke or not, it is certain that Bengals head coach and play caller, Zac Taylor, has many tricks up his sleeve and knows how to design a game that puts an inexperienced backup quarterback in a good place to succeed. For Indy, the game plan will need to be business as usual. The Colts have a good amount of tape on Jake Browning now and the scheme that the Bengals ran on Monday was a lot of quick passes over the middle, getting Browning out of the pocket and in space, and allowing the run game to open lanes for the pass.

So, what will the Colts have to do to extend their win streak to 5 games?

Get Pressure on Jake Browning

The Colts are one of the best pass-rush teams in the league. They currently sit at #2 behind the Baltimore Ravens in terms of total sacks and on this win streak, they are averaging about 5 sacks per game. If Indy wants to stifle any momentum the Bengals are carrying from their Monday night game, they will need to get pressure on Browning, early and often.

The Colts will also be with their fantastic DT Grover Stewart who is coming off a 6-game suspension. Having him in the middle will be huge for this pass rush and it will serve as support in stopping the run. One of the big reasons why the Bengals had so much offensive success against the Jaguars on Monday was due to their efficiency rushing. Grover Stewart is a run stopping machine which will help this defense stay in long distance downs.

Efficiency from the Running Backs

Once again, the Colts will be without RB Jonathan Taylor, who is nursing an injured thumb. In his absence for the next 2-3 weeks, the Colts must find a way to be productive running the football. On Sunday against the Titans, Zack Moss looked terrible as he struggled to get anything going and the offense line struggled to get an push and develop lains for him. If Indy wants a chance in this game, they will have to run the football, for no other reason than to give their defense a break, keep the clock moving, and utilize the RPO and play-action to its full extent. Head Coach Shane Steichen loves nothing more than a good running game and it opens up his playbook and keeps Gardner Minshew out of throwing the ball in harms way.

The Final Down

There are certainly many other areas that could have been addressed in this article, but those two main areas are the keys to this game. Jake Browning will start for just his 3rd career game on Sunday, so while there is more film on him, a lot is still a mystery. The Colts are 2.5-point favorites which is a safe bet, but this game could easily swing in favor of the Bengals.

Let’s not forget that the Jaguars are a solid defense and they looked awful against this Bengals offense. The Bengals will still have Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, Tyler Boyd, and Joe Mixon. Now, their defense can be suspect and will give up points, but these offensive weapons often times overshadow the defensive inconsistencies. All in all, this will be a tough matchup for the Colts and one that is a crucial win as Bengals would have the head-to-head going into their playoff push. Both teams are coming off hot performances the week prior, but the Colts will have the edge.

Colts – 27

Bengals – 24

The Colts will play the Pittsburgh Steelers next Saturday at home.