The Colts put together touchdown drives of 83 and 93 yards with a time of possession approaching 40 minutes during Saturday afternoon's 41-14 victory over the Bengals at Paycor Stadium that ended the preseason.

With the regular-season opener 15 days away, Bengals head coach Zac Taylor benched his starters and most of his regulars and put the preseason finale in the hands of Nos. three and four quarterbacks Desmond Ridder and Payton Thorne.

Running back Kendall Milton set up the Bengals' touchdown early in the second quarter with a hard-charging 61 yards in the 70-yard scoring drive, 41 coming off his cut-back behind right tackle Andrew Coker that set up Ridder's fourth-and-one touchdown lunge.

The 6-1, 230-pound Milton, who spent all but two games last year as a rookie on the practice squad, battered to 72 yards on eight carries to lead the Bengals offense.

Defense end Isaiah Williams, a 2022 seventh-round draft pick of the Browns, who joined the Bengals practice squad late last season, had two sacks and a tipped pass caught by rookie defensive tackle Howard Cross III for an interception. Linebacker Maema Njongmeta, seeking to retain the roster spot he won last year, racked up double-digit tackles.

NOTES

Milton's 41-Yard Burst Sets Up Ridder's Sneak

Halfback Kendall Milton broke loose for a 41-yard run to the Indianapolis five-yard line early in the second quarter, setting up the Bengals offense for a first-and-goal. Cincinnati initially was denied by the Colts' defense on fourth-and-goal, but a defensive offsides penalty gave the Bengals another crack. Quarterback Desmond Ridder took advantage of the extra down and pushed past the goal line for a one-yard touchdown.

Milton finished the day with eight carries for 72 yards. It marked the most rushing yards by a Bengals player in a preseason game since HB Jarveon Williams had 117 yards on 27 carries on Aug. 31, 2017 (also against Indianapolis).

Milton played in two games as a rookie for the Bengals last season and spent 14 games on the team's practice squad. He rushed for 1,839 yards during his four-year career (2020-23) at the University of Georgia.

Njongmeta Hits Double Digits

Second-year linebacker Maema Njongmeta continued racking up the preseason tackles, as he finished Saturday with a game-high 11 defensive stops. Njongmeta had seven through the previous two games.

Last year, Njongmeta's 27 tackles in the preseason led the Bengals and were the second-most in the NFL. His strong performances in preseason contests helped him earn a spot on the final 53-man roster, after originally joining the team as a college free agent in May of 2024. He went on to appear in all 17 regular-season contests with one start.

Extra Points

• Defensive end Isaiah Thomas notched his first two sacks of the preseason. He brought down Colts quarterback Riley Leonard for a loss of seven yards late in the first quarter, then dropped quarterback Jason Bean for a 12-yard loss in the fourth.
• Rookie quarterback Payton Thorne saw his first action of the preseason, entering the game late in the third quarter. Thorne completed four-of-seven passes for 41 yards and led a late touchdown drive.
• RB Quali Conley added a four-yard touchdown run late in the fourth quarter. Conley carried the ball seven times for 28 yards.

QUOTES

"I thought we got all the work done that we needed to get done... I feel really good as a football team about where we're at right now. Now, we get a chance next week with the bonus week to get a head start on Cleveland." - HC Zac Taylor on his overall feelings at the end of the preseason and training camp

"I think being injured and held out, what it really teaches you is the appreciation of what you have and not taking anything for granted right now because you're not going to get any of these times back. I'm just really fortunate to be back out there, and I'm not going to take this year for granted." - K Evan McPherson on what he learned being injured last year

"(I have to) just keep coming in each day and taking advantage of my opportunities. It's a blessing to keep learning from these guys and the coaches and taking it day by day." - OT Jalen Rivers on his mentality entering the regular season

"Just learning how Joe works, learning how he operates, seeing how a top-tier quarterback operates, seeing how a program is supposed to be ran — it's just been great." - QB Desmond Ridder on what he's learned since signing with the Bengals

Click Here to view everything the Bengals said after the preseason finale.