NFL: Bengals at Colts
Posted on August 26, 2008 | 10:43 AM ET Filed under:A couple of banged-up teams meet with little more than a few roster spots at stake when the Bengals and Colts hook up for their annual preseason bout Thursday night (at 7:00PM ET) at the new Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
OddsMaker is listing the Colts as 3.5-point home favorites for Thursday's game, with a total of 34.5 points.
Indianapolis has already played four preseason games this summer, losing in the Hall of Fame Game to Washington 30-16, falling at Carolina 23-20 in OT, and winning at Atlanta 16-9 before opening their new stadium with an ugly 20-7 loss to Buffalo on Sunday night.
Indy QB Peyton Manning, still nursing a bum knee, hasn't played a down yet this preseason, and while he may be activated sometime this week it's unlikely he'll see any on-field action Thursday night.
As well, Colts backup QB Jim Sorgi missed Sunday's game with the Bills with a sore knee of his own, and he's doubtful for Thursday's game. That means Quinn Gray and Jared Lorenzen will likely handle the Indy QB duties Thursday, quite possibly with the third-string job on the line.
The Colts will probably also be without both center Jeff Saturday and returner TJ Rushing Thursday night, after both went out with knee injuries on Sunday. But in a bit of good news for Indianapolis, both S Bob Sanders and DE Dwight Freeney saw their first on-field action of this preseason Sunday, although it's uncertain how much they'll play vs. Cincinnati.
Cincy has played three games so far this exhibition season, winning at Green Bay 20-17, losing to Detroit 27-10 and, last Saturday, losing 13-0 to New Orleans.
The Bengals’ injury list looks like a roll-call of their best players. QB Carson Palmer got his nose broken Saturday, and he's probably out for Thursday. WRs TJ Houshmandzadeh and Chad Johnson are dealing with a sore hammy and shoulder, respectively, and are just trying to get ready for Week 1 of the regular season. And while RB Rudi Johnson may see his first action of this preseason Thursday night, he won’t play much.
These two teams last met in the exhibition season finale last year, with Cincy taking a 14-6 decision at Paul Brown Stadium. The last time these teams met in the regular season was in December of 2006, when the Colts knocked off the Bengals 34-16 in Indianapolis. These two regional rivals will also play in Week 14 of this upcoming regular season.
In their last three-plus preseasons under coach Tony Dungy, Indy is 3-14 straight up and 5-11-1 against the spread. In five seasons under coach Marvin Lewis, Cincy is 11-12 SU and 12-10-1 ATS.
OddsMaker is also listing Cincinnati at +400 to win the AFC North this year, +2,500 to win the AFC, and +5,000 to win the Super Bowl in Tampa in February. The Bengals have also been tagged with a season wins over/under of 7 (over -150, under +120). Indianapolis is posted at –160 to win the AFC South this year, +400 to win the AFC, and +700 to win the Super Bowl. The Colts have been pegged with a season O/U of 11 (-115 both ways).
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