A 1-2 start wasn’t what the Denver Broncos envisioned.
But after a dominant 28-3 win over the Bengals on Monday night, the Broncos are riding high.
It turns out that a porous Bengals defense and an offense featuring Jake Browning and Cincinnati’s offensive line is just what the doctor ordered. For the second straight week, a Bengals team playing without injured quarterback Joe Burrow provided a get-right game for a team previously dealing with a disappointing start to their season.
Bo Nix and the Broncos are feeling good again after trouncing the Bengals on Monday night.
(AAron Ontiveroz/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images via Getty Images)
A Broncos team touted as a preseason AFC West contender entered Monday’s game with consecutive losses to the Colts and Chargers that came down to the wire. There was no fourth-quarter drama Monday.
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A defense that projects among the league’s best teed off on a tepid Bengals offense that couldn’t move the ball. Denver’s offense, meanwhile, rode a 233-yard second quarter against a largely ineffective Bengals defense to a 21-3 halftime lead.
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The Bengals gave themselves a glimmer of hope with a fourth-down interception of Bo Nix in the end zone just inside the first-half two-minute warning that kept the score at 14-3. But Cincinnati’s offense didn’t manage to run out the clock before halftime, much less cut Denver’s lead to one possession.
The Bengals punted back to the Broncos after a three-and-out possession that took 49 seconds off the clock, giving the Broncos a second chance at a score to end the half. This time, they delivered.
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Denver marched 80 yards in 1:01 on a touchdown drive capped by a 20-yard strike from Nix to Courtland Sutton in the end zone.
And that was the ball game.
There was nothing from the Bengals’ offense to indicate that they could mount a comeback from an 18-point deficit. And they didn’t.
Denver punted on its first two possessions of the second half. But the Bengals kept punting right back, and the Broncos were able to salt the game away without resistance.
2 teams going in different directions
For the Broncos, it allowed them to get back into the AFC West conversation at 2-2, tied with the Chiefs and a game behind the 3-1 first-place Chargers.
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For the Bengals, it was a similar script to Week 3, when they allowed a Vikings team fresh off a 22-6 loss to the Falcons to deliver a 48-10 beatdown. That was Cincinnati’s first game since Burrow went down with a long-term toe injury and its first loss of the season.
The Bengals now own the most hopeless 2-2 record in football with little to indicate that they can keep the ship afloat for any sort of late-season Burrow return. These Bengals are the team that you want to see on your schedule next week. Congratulations in Week 5 are in order for the Detroit Lions.
Broncos beatdown, by the numbers
The offensive weapons projected to lead the Bengals into contention were once again deemed moot Monday night. Ja’Marr Chase tallied five catches for 23 yards. Tee Higgins caught three for 32. Chase Brown posted 71 total yards from scrimmage.
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Denver’s defense repeatedly got pressure on Browning and sacked him three times. The Bengals advanced into Broncos territory just once, on their opening possession. They punted eight times, four of which came after three-and-outs.
Against the Bengals defense, the Broncos offense looked like world beaters. They rolled to a 513-159 advantage in total yards. They averaged 6.5 yards per play against 3.7 for the Bengals. Nix threw for 326 yards. J.K. Dobbins ran for 101. Five different Broncos receivers either matched or surpassed Higgins’ team-high tally of 32 receiving yards.
It was exactly the type of game the Broncos needed after a slow start to the season. They’ll look to carry that momentum into a Week 5 matchup against the 4-0 and reigning champion Philadelphia Eagles.