Andrew Luck, Adam Vinatieri lead Indianapolis Colts past Cincinnati Bengals

Although the Indianapolis Colts entered the AFC playoffs having won five of their final six regular-season games, quarterback Andrew Luck and his offensive teammates had formed a habit of starting slow in the first half.

That changed Sunday during a 26-10 opening-round victory against the Cincinnati Bengals, scoring a touchdown on the game’s opening drive, thanks in large part to a more rapid tempo that energized the Colts, who amassed 482 yards, including 376 pass yards from Luck, whose numbers included a 36-yard TD pass to wide receiver Donte Moncrief.

“The offensive tempo was great,” Luck said. “It helps us, it helps with the rush and it helps with the defense trying to align and seeing things. I think our guys love it. They love going out there making plays, and they love making them fast.

“I thought our offensive line handled that very, very well. It helped us get some of those nice, long drives. Obviously, with our first drive, we got points and made some positive plays. Even if we would have a negative run, we would bounce back and make a first down by converting a third down.”

Adam Vinatieri kicked four field goals, helping the Colts pull away during the final 30 minutes.

Indianapolis (12-5) advances to the AFC divisional playoffs and a rematch with No. 2 seed Denver on Jan. 11. It will be the second time this season the No. 4 seed Colts face the Broncos and former Indianapolis Super Bowl-winning quarterback Peyton Manning. Denver won the Sept. 7 game 31-24.

Vinatieri’s fourth field goal — a 22-yarder with 11:31 to go — gave the Colts a commanding 26-10 lead against the Bengals, who finish 10-6-1, losing their seventh consecutive playoff game, saddling quarterback Andy Dalton with an 0-4 record in NFL postseason play.

Dalton finished 18 of 35 for 155 yards as the Bengals took the field without top two receivers A.J. Green and tight end Jermaine Gresham.

“We never got the field position flipped in the third quarter, and that seemed to be a big difference in the football game,” said Bengals coach Marvin Lewis, now 0-6 in the playoffs. “We never could get our offense into good field position. We also didn’t convert on third downs.”

Lewis said he plans to be coaching the Bengals next season despite another playoff failure.

“But it’s not about me, it is about our football team,” Lewis said. “Unfortunately, tomorrow is not promised for anyone.”

The Colts dominated the third quarter, extending a 13-10 halftime lead to 23-10 entering the fourth quarter.

Luck capped a six-play, 61-yard drive with a touchdown pass to Moncrief with 7:40 remaining in the period, giving Indianapolis a 20-10 lead. Luck finished 31 of 44 for the aforementioned 376 yards.

“Defensively, we did another outstanding job,” Colts coach Chuck Pagano said. “We pitched a shutout in the second half. Offensively, we had a bunch of yards. Andrew threw the heck out of the ball. But at the same time, there were a lot of opportunities missed in the first half.

“We had a drive stall at the 11 and another stall at the 20. We had another costly turnover. But in the second half, it was huge to stop their first drive, and then we calmed down. Until then, I thought we were a little unsettled.”

Vinatieri’s 22-yard field goal with 1:31 to play in the third quarter gave the Colts a 23-10 advantage. That Colts drive was 10 plays, 53 yards.

“We weren’t perfect today, and obviously that is the way you want to be, but it certainly felt like we weren’t shooting ourselves in the foot as much as we had in recent games,” Luck said. “But those (nine) penalties, we can’t survive that forever. When we get down into the red zone, we have to score touchdowns. The red zone always will be touchdown to check down in a sense, but a field goal is a lot better than a turnover. Vinatieri is a stud down there, and it is great to get three when we can, but we would gladly trade field goals for touchdowns.”

The Colts received the game’s opening kickoff and drove 71 yards in nine plays, taking a 7-0 lead with 11:05 remaining in the first quarter on Daniel Herron’s 2-yard run.

Cincinnati pulled even at 7 with 1:28 to go in the first quarter on Jeremy Hill’s 1-yard run, which capped a nine-play, 74-yard drive.

Indianapolis regained the lead at 10-7 on Vinatieri’s 38-yard field goal with 12:41 remaining in the second quarter. That Colts drive covered 71 yards in 11 plays.

A Vinatieri field goal from 29 yards with 8:34 to go in the half extended Indianapolis’ lead to 13-7. That time, the Colts moved 53 yards in six plays.

The Bengals climbed to within 13-10 at halftime on Mike Nugent’s franchise postseason record 57-yard field goal with 10 seconds remaining in the second quarter. That kick also was Nugent’s season long, which until Sunday was 49 yards.

Luck completed 16 of 27 first-half passes for 219 yards. Dalton completed 11 of 16 opening-half attempts for 91 yards. The Colts out gained the Bengals 263-156.

Herron lost one fumble and the team recovered another, but he led the Colts with 56 yards on 10 carries and also had a team-high 10 receptions for 85 yards. Herron and Vinatieri received game balls from Pagano during a postgame celebration in the locker room.

“There is nothing more important than this right here — don’t let it go,” Pagano said as he embraced Herron and handed him a game ball.