The fire and brimstone speech that was given after the Cincinnati Bengals loss last week to the Rams appears to have definitely resonated with the team.

On Thursday night in the final game of the preseason versus the Indianapolis Colts and before 56,527 fans at Paul Brown Stadium, the Bengals came out of the gate with a much larger sense of purpose. It definitely showed in their 38-7 victory.

The win gave the Bengals a 2-2 preseason record for the second year in a row. With their loss the Colts record dropped to 1-3. They haven’t had a winning preseason since 2004.

The Bengals have now won six straight games against the Colts during the preseason.

Marvin Lewis, Bengals head coach, said they were not going to brag about tonight’s statistics, but the first group did come out and set the tempo and were able to get things done. Then we had the opportunity to see some of the guys who needed to show why they deserve to be here. He added that they got good tape to look at, and that is what the game had been about.

The offensive line, after struggling during the game last week, performed a lot better. They allowed only one sack and were able to open up the running game where the backs continued to take advantage. Out of the 389 total offensive yards for the Bengals, 296 were on the ground and they averaged 6.9 yard a carry.

With many players fighting for a spot on the roster, Brian Leonard really helped his cause during the first half of the game. The 3rd running back who was acquired by the Bengals in a trade in May with the Rams, had a breakout performance finally which may have wrapped the third spot up for him.

Leonard had nine rushes for 64 yards along with a touchdown and two catches for eight yards.

DeDe Dorsey gave one more reason to consider him with his block of a punt from Pat McAfee in the early part of the fourth quarter and seven yard score. Dorsey finished the game with nine carries and 46 yards. Coming into the game he was the last Cincinnati player to block a punt two years ago while playing against Arizona.

Today the Bengals will be very deliberate before paring their roster down to 53 by the Saturday 4 p.m. deadline. The team will actually have 54 players since Andre Smith, first round draft pick, is exempt for two weeks.

The night was a fast one for the first teams. On the Colts’ opening drive the defense was able to force a three and out. The offense was then able to drive for 61 yards on five plays. The first 44 yards were all accounted for by Cedric Benson on three plays (two of the plays were runs which totaled 35 yards). Andre Caldwell was then able to get free and caught a pass of 14 yards from J.T. O’Sullivan in the end zone.

Two hours prior to the game, Carson Palmer did suit up and work on a practice field. However he did not participate in the pre-game drills and missed his third game in a row.

The Colts tied the game on their next possession when Jim Sorgi hit Taj Smith with a 22 yard pass for a touchdown. Defender Geoffrey Pope tried to break up the pass but mistimed the play, which allowed Smith to go free untouched. The Colts caught a break during that drive when an interception by Corey Lynch was disallowed when Pat Sims was penalized for being offside.

On the next drive, the Bengals were able to retake the lead on a 49 yard field goal from Sam Swank. The drive was started by Bernard Scott with his kick return of 35 yards down to the Bengals 47, and then rushed three times for 14 yards. The sixth round draft pick, who throughout the preseason continued to progress, finished the game with five carries and 43 yards.

It appeared that the Colts were on their way to scoring again when Morgan Trent stripped the ball from John Matthews which was recovered on the Bengals 34 yard line by Marvin White.

The Bengals were then able to break the game wide open during the final six minutes of the first half, with their two scoring drives. They increased the score to 17-7 on an 81 yard, eight play drive which was capped off by a seven yard Jordan Palmer pass to Chris Henry in the end zone. The touchdown was Henry’s fourth for the preseason.

Leonard on that drive made the play of the night, hurdling over defender Travis Key on a 23 yard gain. Palmer, three plays later on third down, scrambled for 26 yards and fumbled in Colts’ territory. However the play was reversed when he was ruled down by contact.

Frostee Rucker was able to force a fumble and then recovered the ball at the Colts’ 14. From four yards out Leonard then rushed up the middle in three plays. The score was 24-7 at half time.

During the second quarter, Cincinnati out gained Indianapolis 131-34 with Pat Sims having two key third down sacks that ended drives. The Bengals finished the game with six sacks.

The Bengals opening drive for the second half was a 10 play 72 yard drive that was capped off by a Palmer 25 yard pass to Kolomona Kapanui.

Palmer struggled at the beginning, but then settled down and went 8 for 16 with two touchdowns and 75 yards.

Jim Sorgi went 11 for 19 for the Colts for 119 yards in what was his first preseason playing action. The Colts sat all of their starters out except two.