NFL Recap (Cincinnati-Indianapolis)
Posted: Sun December 13, 1998 at 6:24 p.m. EST
INDIANAPOLIS 39, CINCINNATI 26
INDIANAPOLIS (Ticker) -- Peyton Manning threw three
touchdown passes to break the single-season rookie record and Marshall Faulk and Torrance Small each scored
two TDs as the Indianapolis
Colts defeated the Cincinnati Bengals,
39-26, in a battle of struggling teams.
Manning completed 17-of-26 passes for 210 yards and raised his season
TD pass total to 24, two more than New York Giants rookie
Charlie Conerly had in 1948. It also was his fourth game of three or more
TDs, another rookie mark.
For the season, Manning is 286-of-502 for 3,179 yards, 24 TDs and 25
interceptions, also rookie records.
"I've never been a big individual records guy," said Manning. "Charlie
Conerly held that record and he was a great hero of my dad's growing up in
Mississippi. The fact that the record was held by him, it's a special
honor to break it. Still, I would trade it all for more wins this season.
But it is a nice honor."
Indianapolis (3-11) won for just the second time in its last nine
games. Cincinnati (2-12) dropped its ninth straight game, its longest
streak since losing nine in a row from 1993-94, and lost for the first time
in four games at the RCA Dome.
Faulk carried 26 times for 115 yards and caught two passes for 39
yards, extending his league lead with 78 receptions and setting a club
record for all-purpose yards in a season with 2,090. He needs 138
receiving yards to join Roger Craig of the 1985 San Francisco 49ers as the
only players to amass 1,000 yards rushing and receiving in the same season.
"First and foremost, the goal is to win," said Faulk. "To have a
great game on top of that is great. I have had a few good games, but it
always feels better when you get the win."
Faulk also moved past Eric Dickerson into second place on the team's
Colts rushing list with 5,229 yards. Lydell Mitchell is the franchise's
all-time leader with 5,487.
Jeff Blake was
16-of-29 for 180 yards and one touchdown in his first start since November
16th, 1997. He replaced Neil O'Donnell, who
fractured a finger on his right hand last week.
On Indianapolis' second drive of the game, Faulk caught a 23-yard pass
from Manning and two plays later went off right end for a 16-yard
touchdown. Indianapolis extended its lead to 10-0 less than two minutes
later when Mike Vanderjagt booted a 50-yard field goal, his fifth this year
of 50 yards or better.
Cincinnati managed to get on the scoreboard late in the first quarter
when Doug Pelfrey
kicked a 40-yard field goal, capping a drive that lasted just over eight
minutes.
Faulk ran up the middle from one yard for his second TD early in the
second quarter. Manning connected on three passes for 45 yards on that
drive, while Faulk had five carries for 36 yards.
After Pelfrey booted a 26-yard field goal, the Colts scored again. On
3rd-and-14, Manning found rookie E.G. Green for 17 yards to
the Cincinnati 49. After two straight incompletions, cornerback Ashley Ambrose was called
for interference.
Three plays later, Manning hooked up with Green on a perfectly thrown
11-yard scoring pass with 48 seconds left. It was Green's first career TD
and allowed Manning to set another rookie record by throwing a TD pass in
his 11th straight game.
Blake was instrumental as Cincinnati scored on its opening drive of
the second half. He completed a 19-yard pass to Stepfret Williams on
3rd-and-12 and ran twice for 24 yards before hooking up with Carl Pickens on a six-yard
scoring toss, just his second of the season. The two-point conversion try
failed, leaving the Bengals in a 24-12 hole.
Indianapolis struck back on the ensuing drive, helped by another
interference call on Ambrose at the Cincinnati 18. Four plays later,
Manning found a leaping Small in the end zone for a 16-yard TD pass.
Small broke two tackles to finish another 16-yard TD reception early
in the fourth quarter. He had five catches for 57 yards.
"It was a heck of a win for us," said Indianapolis coach Jim Mora. "A
real strong theme of ours through the season is to improve. As the season
goes on we have to get better. We talk more about that than wins and
losses. When you get good enough you win, and it happened today."
Cincinnati outgained Indianapolis 378-338 but was done in by nine
penalties, frequent missed tackles and three sacks.
"Every time I thought we would get their offense off the field, there
would be a flag or a missed tackle," said Cincinnati coach Bruce Coslet.
"We made it easy on him (Manning). He threw a lot of slants and we missed
tackles. We had our problems blocking as well."
Cincinnati's Branford Bennett carried 15 times for 87 yards and scored
on a five-yard run in the fourth quarter. Williams had three catches for
49 yards, including a 19-yard touchdown pass from backup quarterback Eric Kresser.
In his first game as Cincinnati punter, Brad Costello set a team
record with a 73-yard boot. Ironically, he broke the record held by
long-time punter Lee
Johnson, who was released this week.
© 1998 Sportsticker Enterprises, LP
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