Great win for the Colts today.  Andrew Luck looked like a playoff-tested quarterback against a very good defense, Boom Herron and Adam Vinatieri earned each game balls, and the team fought their way to a date with Denver next week.

As we’ve done since it received surprisingly positive reviews, here are the game notes as the events occured, complete with unfiltered nonsense and the occasional spot of analysis.  I’ll let you decide which is which.

– The Colts came out of the gate in a nice rhythm. Boom Herron got going early before T.Y. Hilton couldn’t hang onto a deep pass in the endzone.

– Herron helped the team into the red zone anyway with some quick, decisive moves on a 27-yard run and finished things off by punching it in from two. 7-0, horseshoes over stripy thingies.

– Cincinnati moved the ball well on the ground, but not so much through the air, and Vontae Davis ripped down a receiver (Rex Burkhead, listed as a running back) on a 3^rd down slant to get the ball back to Indy.

– Leon Hall must have hidden all the officials’ flags somewhere. He’s out there getting all huggy and cuddly with Hilton. He’d better be careful. Hilton has been known to destroy physical cornerbacks.

– The Bengals, still moving the ball well on the ground, have tied it up on a Jeremy Hill touchdown run with 1:31 left in the 1^st quarter.

– Hill is averaging 4.5 yards per carry (and backup Rex Burkhead has a 23-yard run). Running isn’t the most important thing, but if Indy can contain Cincinnati’s backs, things will be much, much easier.

– End of the first quarter, Hilton hasn’t looked like himself, heads to the sideline after getting tangled up with a defensive back.

– Second quarter, Hilton checks right back in, two straight catches. The first was a Marvin Harrison-like sideline grab on third and eleven, the second, a short slant that turned into a 30-yard gain. Methinks he’s okay now.

– Luck’s hard count has drawn a neutral zone infraction, but also two false starts…

– The Colts had to settle for a field goal after their otherwise promising drive stalled out late.

– With the Bengals threatening their 10-7 lead, Indy blitzed on 3^rd down, and 67-year old safety Mike Adams (he’s actually my age) ran stride for stride downfield with the receiver on the deep pass. Bring on the punt team.

– Boom Herron continues to have a stellar game. A certain running back who is said to be sick waits on the sideline with his helmet on.

– Hakeem Nicks’s 45-yard catch set the Colts up nicely (at the 17), but they again had to settle for a field goal, 13-7, Colts.

– Nobody likes settling for three, but take a moment to appreciate having a kicker who doesn’t make you the least bit nervous when he comes into the game.

– Indy forced another punt, and life is good. This defense is doing what they do against second tier quarterbacks.

– Everyone was impressed with Hilton’s speed on a WR screen (yuck, by the way. WR screens are absolute junk), but everyone knows he’s fast. I was impressed with Anthony Castonzo, all 300+ pounds of him, hustling out ahead of him for the block.

– 3^rd and 2, Luck to Nicks for 4 yards.   The DB celebrates as though he made the stop. Um, it was a nice tackle there, bro, but it’s still a first down. Luck followed it up with a 25 yarder to T.Y.

– …and then a sack. *goes into kitchen and stress eats some cookies*

– Boom Herron fumbles at the Cincinnati 35 on an otherwise great running back screen (would’ve been a 17+ yard gain).

– After the turnover, the Bengals, looking like they might be unable to capitalize, sent Mike Nugent in to kick a 57-yard field goal. As seems to be the case nearly every time a team attempts a long-shot FG against Indy, it went in, albeit after bouncing off the upright. 13-10 Colts.

– Luck at the half, 16/27 for 219 yards, 85.3 QB rating, and a healthy 8.1 ypa (Dalton went 11/16 for 91 yards and an 83.1 rating, but only 5.7 ypa). Boom Herron, aside from the fumble, had one carry for 27 yards and 4 others for a total of 7, but he did snag 6 passes for 61 yards.

 

– Second half, 3^rd and 11: Darius Butler comes in on the blitz but is picked up at the last second. Meanwhile, Jonathan Newsome applies the pressure on Dalton, who nearly throws a pick to Erik Walden (nice coverage by Walden and the corners, too). *tweets “pass intended for Erik Walden” and laughs quietly to self*

– After Pat McAfee’s you’re-gonna-get-tested-for-PEDs monster punt took an unfortunate endzone bounce, there was a scuffle on the sideline resulting in a penalty on the…kick returner, who tangled with Sergio Brown and Matt Overton.

– The defense came through in a big way – pressure, run stopping (thank you, Marvin Lewis, for going super conservative), and a beautiful 3^rd down breakup by Davis. The 3^rd quarter is a punt fest thus far.

– I just saw Andrew Luck with a full 7-8 seconds of clean pocket. He hit Donte Moncrief, because, well, you can’t guard all those weapons forever.

– Luck hit Herron for his 11^th straight completion before sailing one out of bounds deep. On the very next play, he went deep again, weaving through traffic, and threw a beauty to Donte Moncrief – AS HE WAS BEING TAKEN DOWN FROM BEHIND – for a 36-yard touchdown. The man is absolutely fearless, and the coaches are dialing up a wonderfully aggressive game plan. And it’s 20-10 Colts.

– Vontae has had some great plays, Adams had his big one on one moment, and Darius Butler even baited Dalton into throwing his way. It was time for Greg Toler to take a guy one on one down the field and break up a pass.

– The Colts defense right now is, in my professional opinion, jacked up. Bring on the punter.

– Boom Herron, shaking off the fumble, is still on a roll. Luck is tearing up the Bengals defense, much to the delight of Colts Nation. After an apparent TD to Fleener became a 1^st and goal (block in the back on Moncrief), Indy eventually settled for a 22-yard field goal. Adam Vinatieri is 3/3. Just a routine day for him. 23-10

– Crucial drive here. If the Bengals start rolling on offense…well, it doesn’t matter. Three and out, 3^rd down sack by Jerrell Freeman.

– Indy moved the ball well again, but after another near-lost fumble by Herron, they subbed in the famous Zurlon Tipton and were content to settle for a field goal once again. 26-10, Colts.

– Vontae with another pass breakup, camera pans to A.J. Green on the sideline. The Bengals really miss that guy right now. (they picked up 2 on 3^rd and 13 – everyone was blanketed)

– 6:00 left in the game, and, dang, this Zurlon Tipton is BRINGING IT. We also had a T-Rich sighting, in the shotgun on third down. Luck hit Reggie Wayne for a hard fought 1^st down. Reggie got a nice ovation from the crowd.

– There was an accidental flag. Just once, I want the head official to walk up, turn on his mic and say, “No foul. Dropped muh flag.”

– Luck aced like they were going for it on fourth down, clearly, up 16, it wasn’t happening. He said all his “Green 90, set hu-HUT, hut-hut-HAAAHT,” followed by something to the right guard that sounded like “Oh, stop it.” Obviously, they didn’t draw the Bengals offside.

– Jim Nantz: “Dalton’s pass…broken up.” That’s the story of this second half. Great defense against the shorthanded Bengals. Indy bottled up Hill and the Bengals running game after that first quarter, and Dalton didn’t have the ability or the weapons to do anything about it today. Hill managed just 11 yards after his blistering start.

– Just when I’m ready to wrap this thing up, Freeman came in unblocked on a blitz for his second sack, stripped the ball free, and it was recovered by Big (Very Big) Montori Hughes.

– Up next, the Broncos in Denver. That’s a whole different animal than the Bengals, who haven’t won a playoff game since before the internet (well, the nearly universally available internet, anyway). He’d never say it, but Peyton Manning probably started planning for the Colts defense around halftime.

Luck nearly willed the Colts back in a game they had all but lost last time they played at Mile High. This is a mismatch in Denver’s favor, but it’s the NFL playoffs. Anything can happen. The team has some work to do. The rest of us can enjoy this one for a while.

Follow @MarcusDugan

Great win for the Colts today.  Andrew Luck looked like a playoff-tested quarterback against a very good defense, Boom Herron and Adam Vinatieri earned each game balls, and the team fought their way to a date with Denver next week.

As we’ve done since it received surprisingly positive reviews, here are the game notes as the events occured, complete with unfiltered nonsense and the occasional spot of analysis.  I’ll let you decide which is which.

– The Colts came out of the gate in a nice rhythm. Boom Herron got going early before T.Y. Hilton couldn’t hang onto a deep pass in the endzone.

– Herron helped the team into the red zone anyway with some quick, decisive moves on a 27-yard run and finished things off by punching it in from two. 7-0, horseshoes over stripy thingies.

– Cincinnati moved the ball well on the ground, but not so much through the air, and Vontae Davis ripped down a receiver (Rex Burkhead, listed as a running back) on a 3^rd down slant to get the ball back to Indy.

– Leon Hall must have hidden all the officials’ flags somewhere. He’s out there getting all huggy and cuddly with Hilton. He’d better be careful. Hilton has been known to destroy physical cornerbacks.

– The Bengals, still moving the ball well on the ground, have tied it up on a Jeremy Hill touchdown run with 1:31 left in the 1^st quarter.

– Hill is averaging 4.5 yards per carry (and backup Rex Burkhead has a 23-yard run). Running isn’t the most important thing, but if Indy can contain Cincinnati’s backs, things will be much, much easier.

– End of the first quarter, Hilton hasn’t looked like himself, heads to the sideline after getting tangled up with a defensive back.

– Second quarter, Hilton checks right back in, two straight catches. The first was a Marvin Harrison-like sideline grab on third and eleven, the second, a short slant that turned into a 30-yard gain. Methinks he’s okay now.

– Luck’s hard count has drawn a neutral zone infraction, but also two false starts…

– The Colts had to settle for a field goal after their otherwise promising drive stalled out late.

– With the Bengals threatening their 10-7 lead, Indy blitzed on 3^rd down, and 67-year old safety Mike Adams (he’s actually my age) ran stride for stride downfield with the receiver on the deep pass. Bring on the punt team.

– Boom Herron continues to have a stellar game. A certain running back who is said to be sick waits on the sideline with his helmet on.

– Hakeem Nicks’s 45-yard catch set the Colts up nicely (at the 17), but they again had to settle for a field goal, 13-7, Colts.

– Nobody likes settling for three, but take a moment to appreciate having a kicker who doesn’t make you the least bit nervous when he comes into the game.

– Indy forced another punt, and life is good. This defense is doing what they do against second tier quarterbacks.

– Everyone was impressed with Hilton’s speed on a WR screen (yuck, by the way. WR screens are absolute junk), but everyone knows he’s fast. I was impressed with Anthony Castonzo, all 300+ pounds of him, hustling out ahead of him for the block.

– 3^rd and 2, Luck to Nicks for 4 yards.   The DB celebrates as though he made the stop. Um, it was a nice tackle there, bro, but it’s still a first down. Luck followed it up with a 25 yarder to T.Y.

– …and then a sack. *goes into kitchen and stress eats some cookies*

– Boom Herron fumbles at the Cincinnati 35 on an otherwise great running back screen (would’ve been a 17+ yard gain).

– After the turnover, the Bengals, looking like they might be unable to capitalize, sent Mike Nugent in to kick a 57-yard field goal. As seems to be the case nearly every time a team attempts a long-shot FG against Indy, it went in, albeit after bouncing off the upright. 13-10 Colts.

– Luck at the half, 16/27 for 219 yards, 85.3 QB rating, and a healthy 8.1 ypa (Dalton went 11/16 for 91 yards and an 83.1 rating, but only 5.7 ypa). Boom Herron, aside from the fumble, had one carry for 27 yards and 4 others for a total of 7, but he did snag 6 passes for 61 yards.

 

– Second half, 3^rd and 11: Darius Butler comes in on the blitz but is picked up at the last second. Meanwhile, Jonathan Newsome applies the pressure on Dalton, who nearly throws a pick to Erik Walden (nice coverage by Walden and the corners, too). *tweets “pass intended for Erik Walden” and laughs quietly to self*

– After Pat McAfee’s you’re-gonna-get-tested-for-PEDs monster punt took an unfortunate endzone bounce, there was a scuffle on the sideline resulting in a penalty on the…kick returner, who tangled with Sergio Brown and Matt Overton.

– The defense came through in a big way – pressure, run stopping (thank you, Marvin Lewis, for going super conservative), and a beautiful 3^rd down breakup by Davis. The 3^rd quarter is a punt fest thus far.

– I just saw Andrew Luck with a full 7-8 seconds of clean pocket. He hit Donte Moncrief, because, well, you can’t guard all those weapons forever.

– Luck hit Herron for his 11^th straight completion before sailing one out of bounds deep. On the very next play, he went deep again, weaving through traffic, and threw a beauty to Donte Moncrief – AS HE WAS BEING TAKEN DOWN FROM BEHIND – for a 36-yard touchdown. The man is absolutely fearless, and the coaches are dialing up a wonderfully aggressive game plan. And it’s 20-10 Colts.

– Vontae has had some great plays, Adams had his big one on one moment, and Darius Butler even baited Dalton into throwing his way. It was time for Greg Toler to take a guy one on one down the field and break up a pass.

– The Colts defense right now is, in my professional opinion, jacked up. Bring on the punter.

– Boom Herron, shaking off the fumble, is still on a roll. Luck is tearing up the Bengals defense, much to the delight of Colts Nation. After an apparent TD to Fleener became a 1^st and goal (block in the back on Moncrief), Indy eventually settled for a 22-yard field goal. Adam Vinatieri is 3/3. Just a routine day for him. 23-10

– Crucial drive here. If the Bengals start rolling on offense…well, it doesn’t matter. Three and out, 3^rd down sack by Jerrell Freeman.

– Indy moved the ball well again, but after another near-lost fumble by Herron, they subbed in the famous Zurlon Tipton and were content to settle for a field goal once again. 26-10, Colts.

– Vontae with another pass breakup, camera pans to A.J. Green on the sideline. The Bengals really miss that guy right now. (they picked up 2 on 3^rd and 13 – everyone was blanketed)

– 6:00 left in the game, and, dang, this Zurlon Tipton is BRINGING IT. We also had a T-Rich sighting, in the shotgun on third down. Luck hit Reggie Wayne for a hard fought 1^st down. Reggie got a nice ovation from the crowd.

– There was an accidental flag. Just once, I want the head official to walk up, turn on his mic and say, “No foul. Dropped muh flag.”

– Luck aced like they were going for it on fourth down, clearly, up 16, it wasn’t happening. He said all his “Green 90, set hu-HUT, hut-hut-HAAAHT,” followed by something to the right guard that sounded like “Oh, stop it.” Obviously, they didn’t draw the Bengals offside.

– Jim Nantz: “Dalton’s pass…broken up.” That’s the story of this second half. Great defense against the shorthanded Bengals. Indy bottled up Hill and the Bengals running game after that first quarter, and Dalton didn’t have the ability or the weapons to do anything about it today. Hill managed just 11 yards after his blistering start.

– Just when I’m ready to wrap this thing up, Freeman came in unblocked on a blitz for his second sack, stripped the ball free, and it was recovered by Big (Very Big) Montori Hughes.

– Up next, the Broncos in Denver. That’s a whole different animal than the Bengals, who haven’t won a playoff game since before the internet (well, the nearly universally available internet, anyway). He’d never say it, but Peyton Manning probably started planning for the Colts defense around halftime.

Luck nearly willed the Colts back in a game they had all but lost last time they played at Mile High. This is a mismatch in Denver’s favor, but it’s the NFL playoffs. Anything can happen. The team has some work to do. The rest of us can enjoy this one for a while.

Follow @MarcusDugan