Bengals Don’t Let Colts Get Away Easily

Even with a recharged offense, the Indianapolis Colts were happy to come away with a victory against the winless Bengals.

Peyton Manning threw for two touchdowns and ran for another, and Marvin Harrison caught nine passes for 145 yards, but the Colts still needed a late interception to hold off Cincinnati, 28-21, Sunday.

“We feel fortunate to win today,” Manning said.

Indianapolis (3-1), which had an open date last week, posted its second victory in a row thanks primarily to Manning and Harrison, who again proved a potent combination. Manning completed 21 of 34 passes for 224 yards, and Harrison, his favorite target, caught one touchdown pass.

Edgerrin James had a three-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter, ending a 34-quarter scoreless drought that dated to Sept. 23, 2001. He gained 60 yards in 22 carries, the first time in 11 home games that James had failed to break the 100-yard mark.

The Bengals are 0-5 for the second time in three years, but they were thrilled simply to keep a game close after getting outscored, 119-23, in their first four games.

Jon Kitna completed 31 of 43 passes for 244 yards and guided Cincinnati to three touchdown drives--two more than it had produced all season.

Corey Dillon also got going, running for 164 yards and two touchdowns. “I just hope today gave some guys a little bit of hope,” said Kitna. “We got our best player [Dillon] going today; that’s going to help us the rest of the season.”

Peter Warrick misplayed a punt that led to one Colt touchdown, and Kitna’s last interception deflected off Chad Johnson’s hands on a Cincinnati drive that could have tied the score in the closing seconds.