Bengals (2-1) at Broncos (1-2) Monday, Sept. 29 at Empower Field at Mile High (grass), 8:15 p.m. ET, TV: ABC-WCPO-TV Ch. 9 (Cincinnati) Joe Buck, Troy Aikman, Laura Rutledge, Lisa Salters, Russell Yurk (rules analyst). Radio: Dan Hoard, Dave Lapham. 700 WLW AM, WEBN-FM (102.7 FM), ESPN1530
DENVER – It’s time for the Bengals to get back on the horse, and they’ll have the perfect chance Monday night against the Broncos.
The Bengals have had a long week to stew over the most lopsided loss in franchise history, a 48-10 embarrassment last Sunday in Minnesota that was the result of five turnovers and an offense that could never get on track.
Despite leading the Bengals to a dramatic 31-27 last-second win over Jacksonville in Week 2, Jake Browning has been inconsistent in his six quarters of relief of the injured Joe Burrow. He’s thrown five interceptions in those six quarters and, in part because of inconsistencies on the offensive line, hasn’t had much time to find open receivers.
Last week, he threw a pair of interceptions, including one for a Minnesota score by Isaiah Rodgers. Cincinnati committed five turnovers – four in the first half – and lost three of their five fumbles on the afternoon.
“We need to fundamentally clean some stuff up, be better with our ball security,” Bengals head coach Zac Taylor said. “This was one loss. We’ve got 17 games. Don’t let this game beat us twice, in terms of our preparation this week. What the negativity is going to be, that exists. We put that on ourselves. We’ve got to do a great job of sticking together and battling. Again, (we have an) unbelievable stage to go on next week if we want to prove who we are.”
Shemar Stewart (ankle) and tight end Noah Fant (concussion protocol) did not practice all week and have been ruled out for Monday but Cam Taylor-Britt has recovered from a hamstring injury that kept him out last week and returns to the Bengals secondary.
Monday night, of course, is a rematch of one of the most memorable games of 2024, the Bengals (2-1) head to Denver to take on the Broncos (1-2), who are coming off a 23-20 road loss to the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 3.
Denver beat the Tennessee Titans, 20-12, in their season opener before falling to Indianapolis and the Chargers on the road in their last two games. The Broncos blew fourth quarter leads in both losses.
The Broncos had a 20-13 lead against the Chargers and were up, 28-23, in the fourth quarter the previous week against the Colts and lost both game on last-second field goals. Denver second-year quarterback Bo Nix had a couple of overthrows in last week’s game, and his play has been the subject of criticism over the first three weeks.
“When the season’s over with, let’s look at this team and say, ‘Hey, can they finish?’’’ Denver head coach Sean Payton said. “We’ll be able to point to Week 2 and 3, we weren’t able to. But I think of certain teams that I’ve been a part of or coached, and I think that the corrections and the improvement, any good team really and even last year we had a wild card playoff team, there’s a stretch where you begin to win games and you play better. That’s what’s due for this team. That’s what has to happen for this team.”
Last year, Denver had to beat Kansas City to edge out Cincinnati on Week 18 for the final wild card berth after losing a wild 30-24 game in overtime in Cincinnati the week prior. Bo Nix had a late touchdown pass to Marvin Mims Jr. to force overtime. This season Nix is ranked 21st in quarterback rating at 83.5 and has five touchdowns to three interceptions in three weeks.
Here’s what to look for:
- When the Bengals have the ball:
Last December at Paycor, Tee Higgins caught three touchdowns, including the game-winner in overtime, and totaled 11 catches on 12 targets for 131 yards. Ja’Marr Chase caught nine balls on 15 targets for 101 yards and Mike Gesicki had 10 catches on 12 targets for 86 yards. The offense also had a healthy Joe Burrow throwing for 412 yards on 39-of-49 passing. Zach Allen terrorized the Bengals offensive line for 3.5 sacks in that December game. It will only be harder for the Bengals offensive line on the road in a notoriously loud environment for a second straight week. The Bengals could be shaking up their offensive line once again as Dalton Risner injured his calf during Sunday’s loss in Minnesota. Rookie Jalen Rivers came on and played a good portion of the second half. If Rivers gets the start at right guard, the Bengals two starting guards will be rookies. The biggest question all week has been what improvements will the line make in order to improve on the NFL’s worst run game in terms of yards per game (49) and yards per carry (2.4). Will the Bengals attack the box with the passing game like they did last year and stay away from Patrick Surtain III? The Chase-Surtain storyline is one to keep a close eye on. Chase Brown had 67 yards rushing on 20 carries before leaving with a right ankle sprain in last year’s game against Denver. Jake Browning’s only other road win as a starter came in a Monday night game, 34-31, in overtime on Dec. 4, 2023 in Jacksonville.
- When the Broncos have the ball:
Broncos second-year quarterback Bo Nix has not been overwhelming to start this season. They don’t want him to find his groove against a Cincinnati secondary that is getting Cam Taylor-Britt back after missing last week in Minnesota. The Broncos have blown back-to-back fourth quarter leads on the road. While the Bengals haven’t been able to run the ball in the first three weeks, the Broncos do not have that same issue. J.K. Robbins, still only 26, is averaging 5.4 yards a tote and had 11 carries for 83 yards and a touchdown against the Chargers last week. The Bengals run defense has been improved through three games but is still allowing 4.35 yards per carry, and no Shemar Stewart for a second straight week. This would be a good week for T.J. Slaton, Kris Jenkins Jr., BJ Hill and Mike Pennel to show up big in the middle of the line.
- Bottom Line:
The Bengals will not turn the ball over five times again. Jake Browning will look better in the pocket and may even run the ball more on design runs. Chase Brown will look better in the run game. But asking this Bengals team, which is clearly working through serious issues on the offensive line, to handle the Broncos front seven of Zach Allen, Nik Bonitto and Justin Strnad on the road seems too much at this point. And Browning may have two rookies starting on his offensive line on either side of center Ted Karras. The Bengals won’t be down 31 at the half but it’s hard to imagine the Bengals putting up enough points offensively against this Denver defense. Then again, maybe it’s their turn to have the opponent turn the ball over five times. Seems like too much wishful thinking.
Broncos 24, Bengals 23
