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DECEMBER 8, 2013
TIME: 1 p.m. Sunday
PLACE: Paul Brown Stadium (Synthetic)
LOCAL RADIO: Play-by-play Dan Hoard and analyst Dave Lapham led by Triple Cast of WLW 700 AM, ESPN AM 1530 and WEBN FM 102.7 on the 25-station Bengals radio network.
NATIONAL RADIO: Play-by-play Sean McDonough, analyst Anthony Muñoz, Ian Fitzsimmons sideline reporter
TV: CBS broadcast team of play-by-play Greg Gumbel and analyst Dan Dierdorf on Cincinnati's Channel 12, Channel 7 in Dayton, Ohio, Channel 27 in Lexington, Ky.
INJURIES
CIN: Starting RG Kevin Zeitler (foot) returned to practice this week for the first time since his Nov. 10 injury when he was limited Thursday and Friday and was the only player listed as questionable. Everyone else on the active roster was probable. LG Andrew Whitworth (calf) and wide receiver Andrew Hawkins (hamstring) went full Friday for the first time this week. The only player who didn't work Friday was long snapper Clark Harris with an illness.
IND: OUT: Starting DT Ricky Jean Francois (foot) and starting RG Jeff Linkenbach (quad); Starting LG Hugh Thornton (neck) was limited Thursday and Friday and is questionable. Starting LCB Greg Toler (groin), out the last five games, was limited all week and is questionable. Backup MLB Kavell Conner (ankle) had practiced full all week until Friday and was called questionable.
THE SERIES
Colts lead regular season series 16-9, postseason series 1-0; 8-3 in Cincinnati, 1-1 at PBS; 10-6 at home
NOTEWORTHY
» The Bengals were 4-5 against the Baltimore Colts and in the first meeting of the series on the day after Christmas in 1970 the Bengals appeared in their first postseason game and lost, 17-0, on the road. The Colts went on to win the Super Bowl after quarterback Johnny Unitas completed just six of 17 passes. But two went for long touchdowns to his wide receivers, one a 45-yarder to Roy Jefferson and the other a 53-yarder to Eddie Hinton.
» The Bengals are 5-12 against the Indianapolis Colts and were 0-7 against Peyton Manning.
» In his rookie year of 2011 Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton broke Cincinnati's seven-game losing streak against Indy when a 27-17 victory over Curtis Painter marked Cincinnati's first win against the Colts since Boomer Esiason came off the bench in relief of Jeff Blake to beat Kelly Holcomb in 1997.
» Colts linebackers coach Jeff FitzGerald, who worked for the Bengals for four seasons, returns where current Bengals linebackers coach Paul Guenther assisted him for three of those seasons.
» Bengals wide receiver Ryan Whalen may be inactive, but it is still a Stanford reunion with his college quarterback, the Colts' Andrew Luck, and position coach, Colts offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton.
» For the second time in three home games, Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis tries to beat a fellow former Ravens defensive coordinator. Colts head coach Chuck Pagano and Jets head coach Rex Ryan both led the Baltimore defense.
» With a win the Colts win their first AFC South title since Manning's last season in 2010.
NFL RANKINGS
CIN: 12th in scoring, 12th in offense (18th rushing, 11th passing); 5th in scoring defense, 6th in defense (8h rushing, 8th passing), T-16th in turnover margin at minus-1.
IND: T-14th in scoring, 20th in offense (20th rushing, 20th passing); 12th in scoring defense, 22nd in defense (28th rushing, 77th passing), T-10th in turnover margin at plus-6.
COACHES
CIN: Marvin Lewis 87-84-1 regular season, 0-4 postseason in his 11th season; 1-4 vs. Colts.
IND: Chuck Pagano 19-10 in second season, 0-1 in postseason; 0-0 vs. Bengals and Lewis.
WEATHER
The National Weather Service in Wilmington, Ohio is calling for snow and freezing rain throughout the game with temperatures around 32 degrees and winds out of the east at about eight miles per hour.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
» 50 - Home career wins for Lewis if Bengals win Sunday
» .576 - Regular-season home winning percentage (49-35-1) for Lewis
» .625 - Regular-season home winning percentage (35-21) for Paul Brown
» .593 - Regular-season home winning percentage (38-26) for Sam Wyche
» 25-23 - Lewis record in December
» 14-7 - Lewis record in last five Decembers
» 8-4 - Lewis record at home in last five Decembers
» 17 - Regular-season games Lewis has coached in 35 degrees or less as Bengals coach
» 5 - Regular-season games Colts have played in 35 degrees or less in last 11 seasons
» 10-7 - Regular-season record for Lewis in 35 degrees or less
» 3-2 - Colts regular-season record in 35 degrees or less
» 2-1 - Bengals QB Andy Dalton's record in 35 degrees or less
» 1-0 - Colts QB Andrew Luck's record in 35 degrees or less
» 37.7 - Colts offense's third-down percentage, 16th in league
» 26 - Bengals defense's third-down percentage at home
» 23.5 - Points Colts average on the road
» 31.4 - Points Bengals average at home
» 15 - Average points Bengals allow at home
» 56 - Passer rating of foes at PBS this season
» 82.4 - Luck's passer rating this season
» 16-12 - Dalton's record in first 28 games
» 19-9 - Luck's record in first 28 games
» 44-26 - Dalton's TDs-INTs in first 28 games
» 38-26 - Luck's TDs-INTs in first 28 games
» 10 - Luck's career winning drives in the fourth quarter or overtime
» 9 - NFL starts by Oilers QB Oliver Luck, Andrew's father
» 2-3 - TDs-INTs for Oliver Luck in two games in Cincinnati
» 24 - Turnovers by Bengals this season
» 13 - Turnovers by Colts this season
» 3.4 - Colts RB Trent Richardson's career average on 406 rushes
» 4.4 - Bengals RB Giovani Bernard's career average on 119 rushes
GAME DAY ENTERTAINMENT
» JungleZone: My Sister Sarah
» Giveaway: Eye Black for the first 15,000 fans
» Halftime: NFL Punt, Pass & Kick winners plus Around the League in 180 Seconds
TOYS FOR TOTS
U.S. Marine Corps Reserves will collect new unwrapped toys and cash donations for disadvantaged children in our community and distribute the toys just before Christmas. Every contribution makes a huge difference. We hope every Bengals fan will support this year's Toys for Tots collection by bringing a new unwrapped toy or cash donation to this Sunday's game.
