The last week of the NFL preseason has finally arrived. We’re just one weekend away from the next football snap marking the kickoff of the 2024 season, and it can’t come soon enough.
But before we reach the Baltimore Ravens facing off against the defending Super Bowl Champion Kansas City Chiefs, we have one final slate of games in which hundreds of players around the league are fighting for a final few unsettled roster spots on each squad.
First up: the Indianapolis Colts and Cincinnati Bengals. What should we watch for in this contest?
Colts at Bengals Announcers, Broadcast Details, and More
- Start time: Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024, 8 p.m. ET
- Location: Paycor Stadium, Cincinnati, Ohio
- TV Channel: Amazon Prime; FOX59 (local Colts market); WXIX, FOX Ch. 19 (local Bengals market)
- Announcers: Al Michaels (play-by-play), Kirk Herbstreit (color analyst), Kaylee Hartung (sideline reporter)
- Streaming options: FuboTV (with a 7-day free trial), DAZN (for viewers outside the US, Canada, and China)
- Radio stations: 93.5/107.5 The Fan, 97.1 HANK, and the Ascension St Vincent Radio Network (local Colts market); Bengals Radio Network, led by Cincinnati flagship stations WCKY-AM (1530) and WEBN-FM (102.7) (local Bengals market)
- Betting lines:
- Spread: Colts -6.5
- Total: 34.5
- Moneyline: Colts -300, Bengals +250
For Bengals fans tuning in locally on the radio, the game will also be available on the Bengals-Colts game center to in-market fans. The broadcasters are Dan Hoard (play-by-play) and Dave Lapham (analyst).
Colts fans in the team’s home market can listen to the local broadcast on the Colts App and Colts.com. Colts fans everywhere can listen to the local broadcast of the game on Colts.com (desktop only).
Colts at Bengals Game Preview
One reason the betting lines might look so tilted in Indianapolis’ favor is that the Colts are expected to play their starters, while the Bengals reportedly will not. This means fans will get a look at quarterback Anthony Richardson and his supporting cast ahead of Week 1.
Richardson is one of the hottest names to follow both in fantasy football and the general NFL landscape more broadly this year. After a tantalizing but tiny sample size of play last season before a shoulder injury knocked Richardson out for the year, Colts fans are chomping at the bit to see what the former Florida Gators star can do over a full season.
Richardson is widely regarded as one of the most dangerous dual-threat QBs in the NFL, but it’s that very rough-and-tumble, run-first style of play that got him in trouble last season.
This preseason game will be an early test of whether Richardson can both be a weapon on the ground and protect himself from harm. If he can do both effectively, the Colts’ offense should be one of the most exciting in the NFL this year.
Colts fans are also looking for developments on the defensive depth chart.
“The Colts’ top safety pairing is not settled yet, but with the starters playing against the Denver Broncos in Aug. 11’s preseason opener, it was Julian Blackmon at strong safety and Nick Cross at free safety,” Colts.com writer JJ Stankevitz noted about the team’s defensive backfield. “Thursday’s preseason finale will be a significant opportunity for Cross to solidify himself as a Week 1 starting safety next to Blackmon.”
As for Bengals fans, they’ll mostly be watching for which players fighting for spots on the back-end of the roster will rise to the occasion.
PFN’s Jay Morrison tabbed undrafted rookie linebacker Maema Njongmeta as a name to watch.
“Njongmeta’s 17 tackles in the preseason, tied for the third most in the league, are a big reason why he enters tonight’s preseason finale against Indianapolis as the favorite to be the fifth linebacker if that’s how many the Bengals keep when the roster cuts are announced Tuesday afternoon,” Morrison wrote.
On offense, rookie receiver Jermaine Burton will surely be someone to watch. The former Alabama Crimson Tide playmaker was selected in the third round of April’s NFL Draft and is vying for positioning in the team’s passing game.
While second-year breakout candidate Andrei Iosivas seems to be first in line behind Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, Burton’s talent could have him pushing for significant snaps sometime this season, especially given the uncertain contractual situations surrounding Chase and Higgins.