Chandler Harnish finished with 162 yards passing and the winning touchdown throw in the fourth quarter, as the Indianapolis Colts topped the Cincinnati Bengals, 20-16, in the exhibition finale for both teams.
Harnish completed 9-of-16 passes, while Drew Stanton went 3-for-3 for 43 yards in brief action for the Colts, who open up the 2012 season at Chicago on Sept. 9.
Deji Karim and Darren Evans added rushing scores, while Dominique Jones hauled in the game-deciding catch, a 42-yard score.
Bruce Gradkowski was 12-of-19 for 95 yards and a touchdown for the Bengals, who are in Baltimore to begin the year 10 days from now.
He subbed admirably for starter Andy Dalton, who suffered a bruised arm on the first Cincy series. Dalton completed 3-of-4 attempts for 26 yards before departing.
Zac Robinson added 140 yards on 16-of-22 completions, while Mohamed Sanu led all receivers with eight catches for 80 yards.
Mike Nugent connected on all three of his field-goal attempts, the final one a 22-yard make, which put the Bengals up 16-13 heading into the fourth.
But Harnish connected with Jones on Indy's second possession of the final quarter. Despite a missed two-point conversion, the Colts held on to win thanks to a fumble recovery and forcing a Robinson incompletion on 4th-and-11 inside the two-minute warning.
Game Notes
JOIN THE DISCUSSION | Register here
We welcome comments. Please keep them civil, short and to the point. ALL CAPS, spam, obscene, profane, abusive and off topic comments will be deleted. Repeat offenders will be blocked. Thanks for taking part — and abiding by these simple rules. A thorough explanation of rules of conduct can be found in our Terms of Service. If you have any questions, including why your comment may not be showing immediately after you submit it, be sure to visit the commenting FAQ.