Bengals at Colts, Sunday 1:05p.m. EST, CBS

The AFC South Champion Indianapolis Colts will host the Cincinnati Bengals in this wild card matchup.  Indy finished the regular season with an 11-5 record, while the Bengals went 10-5-1.  Unlike the Colts, the Bengals haven’t performed well in the playoffs.  They are 0-5 under Marvin Lewis, but will look to change that this weekend.  The Colts on the other hand have had success in the postseason, including last year when Andrew Luck and company completed a second half comeback to defeat the Kansas City Chiefs in the Wild Card round; they went on to lose to the Patriots in the divisional matchup.  This weekend, the Colts will look to make a serious run this postseason, while Andy Dalton and company look for their first playoff win under Lewis.

These two teams met in October, and the Colts shut them out 27-0.  The Bengals have been playing well as of late winning seven of their last 10, but lost 27-17 to the Steelers in the final week of the regular season.  Cincy has dealt with a few injuries this season, most impactful being A.J. Green’s.  The wide receiver has been back on the field for a few weeks and is a big part of the Bengals offense.  Green accounted for 13 of the Bengals 20-plus yard plays this season as he is one of the most explosive receivers in the league.  

Dalton has struggled in the playoffs in the past, but will look to change that this weekend.  When it comes to the playoffs there is little room for error, and the quarterback has to be near perfect.  During the regular season, Dalton has had his fair share of success, but come playoff time the imperfections begin to show.  

Luckily for the Bengals, they can rely on the run game as well with Jeremy Hill.  The running back nearly broke Corey Dillon’s record of 1,129 yards, but finished the season with 1,124.  

As for the Colts, Andrew Luck is one of the best quarterbacks in the game.  He has led the Colts to several big-time wins in his young career.  He has a fair share of strong offensive targets including T.Y. Hilton, who had a career season this year.  

With the Colts offense and the Bengals history of playoff struggles, Indy has the advantage here.  They get to play in front of their home crowd as they attempt to build off a great season.  While the Bengals are prone to playoff mistakes, the Colts have been able to take advantage.  

Final Prediction: Bengals 20 Colts 28