The Cincinnati Bengals will hit the road to face the surging Indianapolis Colts in a Week 7 clash of division leaders. It's been a bit of a role reversal for both squads over the past three weeks.
Cincinnati started the year 3-0 and was the talk of the NFL. However, a 43-17 thrashing by New England and a 37-all tie with Carolina has the Bengals in need of a win this week to stay on top of the AFC North.
Meanwhile, the Colts began the year 0-2, but have reeled off four straight wins to ascend to the top of the AFC South. They will now look for their fifth straight win at home. That would be an impressive feat for Indy, who hasn't won five straight games since Peyton Manning led the franchise to the Super Bowl in the 2009-10 NFL season.
This will be a tough matchup for the Bengals' 28th-ranked defense, which will have to contain the Colts' No. 1-ranked offense. That defense has given up 80 points over the past two games, while the Colts are averaging 34.5 points over their past four games.
Colts QB Andrew Luck leads the NFL with 1,987 passing yards and 17 passing scores while also ranking seventh in QB rating with a 99.6 mark. If there was any doubt as to whether he was an elite QB, that talk has been squashed.
The last time the two teams played in the regular season was in Week 14 of the 2013 season. That game saw the Bengals jump out to a 21-0 lead en route to a 42-28 victory.
How to watch
Where: Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis
When: 1 p.m. ET
TV: CBS
Announcers: Ian Eagle (play-by-play), Dan Fouts (analyst), Jenny Dell (sideline reporter)
Radio: Bengals Radio Network, Colts Radio Network
Online streaming: Verizon NFL Mobile
Odds
The Colts are favored at home by 3 points, according to OddsShark. The over/under for the game is 49 points.
Further reading
For more on the Bengals, check out Cincy Jungle. For additional coverage of the Colts, head on over to Stampede Blue.