(My Sportsbook) - Nothin' like a little home cookin' to cure what ails ya.

The Colts can surely attest to that old cliche after Monday's fairly dominant 34-16 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals at the RCA Dome ended a two-game skid and kept Indianapolis on pace with Baltimore in the race for a first- round playoff bye.

Both the Colts and Ravens are now 11-3 and trail San Diego by one game for home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs. The Colts currently own the tiebreaker over the Ravens, but one of those three teams will have to play on the first weekend in January, which is usually a detriment to making a long playoff run.

The two-game skid, which included a horrendous performance at Jacksonville last week, had many speculating that the Colts were in free fall. As Monday's effort showed, that is far from the truth.

"We didn't look at it like it was a crisis," said Colts head coach Tony Dungy after the game. "I know everybody talked about that, but you'd seen it all through the league -- teams not playing their best for a week or two, and we knew we were still in good position."

Added quarterback Peyton Manning, "Two losses is kind of unfamiliar territory. The past two weeks have been kind of unfamiliar. Not something we wanted to continue. We wanted to answer the bell, answer the challenge."

They did, and on both sides of the ball.

Manning directed a strong offensive attack that featured a good mix of runs and passes. The Colts didn't have to punt until the fourth quarter, with the game well in hand.

Defensively, things were much different from the previous two weeks. Tennessee and Jacksonville combined to run for 594 yards in the past two games, but the Colts stiffened up -- somewhat -- and yielded a total of just 278 yards to the NFL's seventh-ranked offense.

The Bengals still ran for 133 yards, as Indy has yet to yield fewer than 100 yards on the ground in a game this season, but the Colts kept Cincy quarterback Carson Palmer under wraps, and overall it was a solid effort from a much-maligned group entering the game.

"We played well and played together," said defensive end Dwight Freeney. "We're not worried about what everyone else says."

Freeney finally had a breakout game. He entered the contest with just 2 1/2 sacks for the entire season, but notched three on Monday and forced three fumbles -- one of which came on Cincinnati's first series and led to an Indy field goal.

SEVEN MINUTES IN HEAVEN

Monday's outcome was still in doubt after a Cincinnati field goal made it a 17-13 game with 9:14 to play in the third quarter, but the next seven minutes gave Indianapolis all the breathing room it would need.

Manning directed a six-play, 75-yard drive for a touchdown on the next series, and the Indy defense came up with a three-and-out without yielding a yard. The Colts then went 57 yards in six plays and one penalty for another touchdown and a comfortable 31-13 lead with 2:16 remaining in the third.

Game, set, match.

DINKIN' AND DUNKIN'

Manning and the Colts did not shred the Cincinnati secondary, but instead worked the underneath routes to near perfection.

Marvin Harrison caught three touchdown passes -- they went for four yards, three yards and one yard -- and finished with eight catches for just 86 yards. Reggie Wayne hauled in seven passes for only 84 yards, including an 18-yard scoring strike.

"On offense, I thought we played very patient," said Dungy. "We got the scores and that's what we hadn't been doing [during the past two games]. We'd been moving the ball, but we hadn't been scoring."

Utilizing Harrison and Wayne was just what the doctor ordered.

"There are a lot of quarterbacks in the league playing, but nobody's got two guys like that," Manning said of his top two receivers. "It sure makes a lot of difference as a quarterback when you have one great receiver. With two great receivers, it sure makes my job a lot easier."

Especially when the other team allows them to run free in an effort to not get beat deep.

SAFETY FIRST, MORE LIKE FOURTH AND FIFTH

The injury bug in the defensive backfield forced the Colts to start Dexter Reid and Matt Giordano at safety on Monday. Bob Sanders sat for the 10th time in 14 games because of a knee injury, while Marlin Jackson and Antoine Bethea each missed the game because of shoulder problems.

Giordano had five tackles, while Reid finished with four. Each also broke up a pass.

ADDAI A HURTIN'

The Colts suffered another injury on Monday, this time in the offensive backfield, as rookie running back Joseph Addai sprained his ankle. He was hurt on a 41-yard run in the third quarter, a burst that set up a touchdown pass, and did not return.

"It's not the infamous high sprain," Dungy said after the game. "We are hopeful he'll be OK. I saw on the replay that it got rolled up on the long run, but we are going back to Houston [Addai's hometown] this week, so my sense is he'll be ready."

Addai finished with 50 yards on eight carries, and Dominic Rhodes helped pick up the slack with 52 yards on 19 attempts.

UP NEXT

Now that the Colts have again established their home dominance, improving to 7-0 at the RCA Dome this year, it's back to the road this Sunday in Houston. Indy has lost its last three away from home, and needs to get some confidence away from the friendly confines of the dome.

"We've been playing well at home and winning at home. Now, we've got to take that on the road this week," Dungy stated Monday night.

The Colts beat up on the Texans at home in Week 2 with a 43-24 triumph. Manning threw for 400 yards with three scores as Indy racked up 515 yards of total offense and rolled to its ninth straight win without a loss against Houston.

Indianapolis has scored at least 30 points in five of the nine meetings, including three straight. Last year's matchup at Reliant Stadium ended in a 38-20 Colts win.