The Indianapolis Colts faced the Cincinnati Bengals on Dec. 10, 2023, in Week 14 of the 2023 NFL season. Here are takeaways and highlights from the game.
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Final Score: Bengals 34, Colts 14
Both squads needed this win to keep pace in the playoff hunt. Despite going into halftime tied at 14, the Bengals pulled away in the second half to secure the 34-14 win and get back above .500. Both teams are now 7-6 after this contest.
Jake Browning led the way for Cincinnati with another efficient performance, and his first of two touchdowns on the day went to fifth-round pick Chase Brown, who took the screen 54 yards for his first career touchdown to open the scoring. Joe Mixon punched it in from one yard out to put the Bengals up 14 before the Colts promptly tied the game just after the two-minute warning with a pair of touchdowns in just 25 seconds, capped off Ronnie Harrison Jr.’s pick-six.
In the second half, any hopes the Colts had of securing an important win faded as the Bengals took full control. The unheralded Tanner Hudson joined Brown in scoring his first career touchdown with 11:38 to go in the third, followed by Browning calling his own number late in the frame to put the Bengals up by two scores once again. In the final frame, Evan McPherson hit a pair of field goals to secure the win for Cincinnati, the second consecutive outing in which the Bengals scored 34 points.
Browning’s effort saw him accrue 275 yards on 24 completions with both of his touchdowns going to those who scored their first career touchdowns. With a 122 passer rating this game, Browning joins Chad Pennington in having his first three starts feature a passer rating above 95. Gardner Minshew put together a solid performance of his own with 240 yards on 26 completions, but it wasn’t enough as the Colts watched their winning streak end at four.
Highlights
54-yard TUDDY for the rookie @chasebrown____ 👏 pic.twitter.com/ToN1Lej3qk
— Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) December 10, 2023
Nabbed six right out of their hands.
📺 CBS pic.twitter.com/U38YZzmCY5
— Indianapolis Colts (@Colts) December 10, 2023
Mixon shoves Browning in for the TD! pic.twitter.com/dcCzxMdkZQ
— Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) December 10, 2023
Looking Forward
The direct result of this game is that the Colts and Bengals now possess identical 7-6 records. They are two of the six AFC teams at 7-6, setting up a potentially wild end of the season. In essence, nine teams in the AFC are separated by only one game for what will be five playoff spots.
Despite the ultra-competitive weeks ahead, the Bengals certainly have shown that they’re not ready to give in without Joe Burrow. They have a short week this week as they will face the Vikings in the opener of the three Saturday games. Minnesota is coming off the first 3-0 victory in 16 seasons after a very lackluster outing against the Raiders.
For the Colts, an opportunity to pull even with Jacksonville atop the AFC South was wasted. Indianapolis now finds itself dead even with the Texans at 7-6 after Houston got blown out by the Jets. The Colts will join the Bengals in playing on Saturday next weekend: at home against another 7-6 team, the Steelers.
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