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Re-Focused: Week 10, Bengals at Colts

While they were victorious, it wasn't the kind of win that is going to inspire much Super Bowl chatter for the Colts.

After being handed an early advantage by some lax play by the Bengals' offense, the Colts really didn't do all that much and very nearly let Cincinnati back into it. Is it a case of the injuries finally catching up with them, or a midseason lull before they hit their stride with Peyton Manning at the peak of his powers?

It's a question Cincinnati would love to be posing themselves as they sit four games off the lead in the AFC North and all but out of the race for the playoffs. Once again they gave themselves too much to do, but that stops being consolation and starts being part of the problem. Let's see how the individual performances worked out.

Bengals: Three performances of note

There were only two things that were annoying about the performance of Chad Ochocinco (+2.1). One was the manner in which he strolled back to the line as the Bengals had the smallest chance of getting back into things, and the other was that he made one of the best catches you'll see all year, only for it to be called back on a holding penalty. Ouch. Obviously fired up by the criticism he took during the week, the artist formerly known as Chad Johnson made a number of tough catches on his way to nabbing seven of 12 balls thrown his way for 86 yards. Would have been nice if he didn't drop two passes.

The other positives to take out of this game was a pretty impressive all-around display from the defense (especially the front seven). Two of the performances that really stood out were that of rookies. Linemen Carlos Dunlap (+2.8) and Geno Atkins (+2.0) had big days, as they saw more time than usual with the Bengals employing their nickel defense a great deal. Both men picked up a sack, while Atkins outdid Dunlap with three further quarterback disruptions to one (though to give Dunlap his due, he did make some nice plays in run defense). Both men have flashed talent at times, so to see them put it together with extended playing time bodes well for the future.

The main problem the Bengals had was along their offensive line, especially their guards. The usually dependable Bobbie Williams (-3.0) had one of his worst games in recent memory and Nate Livings (-3.0) continued to perplex us with his sub-standard play not threatening his starting spot. Both men were particularly bad in a running game that struggled.

Colts: Three performances of note

Even Manning can't work with the terrible performance put forth by Brandon James (-3.5). It doesn't matter how experienced you or are not, you can't drop two of the balls he dropped. It didn't help that Pierre Garcon added another two drops to his resume as the Colts managed to drop five catchable balls and failed to establish the kind of offensive rhythm we've become use to seeing from them.

In better news, the twin terrors of Dwight Freeney (+3.2) and Robert Mathis (+3.8) were at their best, with each man finishing with a sack and three pressures. With the game on the line they rallied and made consecutive big plays to close the game off, and to make things all the better they had solid days in run support. As long as these two are healthy, the Colts are going to be able to get away with sub-standard play in other areas.

Which is something that can be often said of the offensive linemen. The latest to show his true colors is Jeff Linkenbach (-6.9). Getting the starting job, Linkenbach proceeded to stink up the joint with some terrible run blocking and a quarterback hit and three pressures. It's genuinely amazing that after all these years the Colts still turn out such poor offensive linemen on such a regular basis.

Rookie report

First-round pick Jermaine Gresham (-0.6) had his most productive day as a receiver in catching a lot of short stuff, but fumbled away a crucial ball and was poor with his run blocking. … Receiver Jordan Shipley (-0.3) didn't impress in this one, continuing a trend with his recent displays.

We're seeing more of first-round pick Jerry Hughes (-0.5) and all he really had to show for his day was a solitary QB pressure on 14 rushes. … Middle linebacker Pat Angerer (+0.5) was better in run defense but looked a tad out of place in coverage. … It was an impressive display inside from Ricardo Matthews (+1.1). He made a couple of big plays in which he beat his man. … Two-down linebacker Kavell Conner (+0.8) had a nice game with a couple of defensive stops to show for his hard work. … Tight end Brody Eldridge (-1.9) was unimpressive with his run blocking. … Javarris James (-0.8) didn't resemble his cousin Edgerrin in anything but name.

Random note

Other than Ochocinco, no Bengals receiver dropped a pass. … Manning didn't throw a ball to his left shorter than 9 yards.

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