NFL ROUNDUP Friday's other game

Colts 21, Bengals 20
INDIANAPOLIS -- The Indianapolis Colts did little right. With the Cincinnati Bengals in town, it wasn't necessary. The Colts scored touchdowns on a kickoff return, interception return and a fumble recovery to beat the Bengals in the preseason finale. Rookie Brad Pyatt returned the opening kickoff 94 yards for a touchdown. Cornerback David Macklin returned an interception of a pass by Carson Palmer 93 yards early in the third quarter to tie the score at 14-14. Josh Mallard hit Palmer from behind, jarred the ball loose, and defensive end Raheem Brock raced 70 yards to make it 21-14 with 8:42 left in the game. It was time since a regular-season game in 1968 that the Colts scored three touchdowns on returns. But few saw it live. Indianapolis had more than 9,000 no-shows and announced an actual attendance of 29,079 -- slightly better than the 26,741 the Colts drew two weeks ago. The Colts (3-1) won their third preseason game for the first time since 2000 and hoped it was a precursor of what's to come. The last four times they won three preseason games, the Colts have reached the playoffs. The Bengals (1-3) outgained the Colts 504-160 in total offense, had two long touchdown passes, but still could not win because of mistakes. On the field, it wasn't so much a tuneup as it was a tug-of-war. Colts quarterback Peyton Manning lasted only three plays. Two-time NFL rushing champ Edgerrin James didn't even dress. Cincinnati quarterback Jon Kitna was pulled after the first quarter, in the middle of a drive, and Pro Bowl running back Corey Dillon didn't play a down. Without the starters, the game was fraught with mistakes.