Denver Broncos Beat Bengals, Remain on Top in AFC West

The Denver Broncos hit field goal in overtime, recover fumble on Bengals’ final possession to win 20-17.

The Denver Broncos won the opening coin toss; however, they elected to defer the ball to the second half, ultimately kicking the ball off to the Bengals to open the game. The Bengals opened the game against the Denver Broncos with an impressive drive, ending with a touchdown pass from A.J. McCarron to A.J. Green. With the score, the Bengals jumped to a 7-0 lead on the Denver Broncos.

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The Denver Broncos struggled to gain any traction in the first half, resulting in numerous empty possessions that did not result in any points on the board. In the second quarter, the Bengals extended their lead over the Denver Broncos. Mohamed Sanu scored on a six-yard rush out of the wildcat formation. Sanu played some quarterback in college, and the Bengals used this formation for one play in their previous game. With the score, the Bengals were up 14-0.

The Denver Broncos managed to get on the scoreboard just before halftime, with Brandon McManus scoring on a 23-yard field goal with 18 seconds remaining in the half. Heading into halftime, most stats pointed to the Bengals dominating the Denver Broncos in the first half of the game. The Denver Broncos managed just three points off of 89 net yards and only possessing the ball for 8:46.

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In turn, the Bengals scored 14 points off of 205 net yards, converted 7-of-8 third down attempts, and possessed the ball for 21 minutes. With an unimpressive first half, the Denver Broncos needed to turn things around in a hurry if they wanted to stop their two game losing streak this week. With the Kansas City Chiefs winning, a loss by the Denver Broncos meant they would fall to second place in the division.

However, the Denver Broncos came out in the second half ready to put up a fight, scoring on their opening drive to cut the Bengals’ lead to just four points. Brock Osweiler connected with Emmanuel Sanders on an eight-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter. Emmanuel Sanders continued his impressive season, and he looks to be the best wide receiver on the Denver Broncos’ squad as of late.

Following a quiet third quarter by the Bengals, the Denver Broncos tacked on some more points after an impressive touchdown run from C.J. Anderson. Anderson helped the Denver Broncos take the lead on a 39-yard touchdown scamper to put the Broncos up 17-14. After the touchdown rush by Anderson, the Bengals tied up the football game with a 52-yard field goal off the foot of Mike Nugent.

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Following the field goal by Mike Nugent, the Denver Broncos were marching down the field behind the legs of C.J. Anderson; however, he made a costly turnover with just over four minutes remaining in the game. Anderson fumbled on the Bengals’ 26-yard line, and the fumble marked the first turnover of the game for either team.

The number-one ranked defense in football (the Denver Broncos) needed to prove their worth after the costly turnover. The Denver Broncos managed to stop the Bengals offense, forcing them to punt with just under two minutes remaining in the game. Brock Osweiler and Owen Daniels connected on a couple passes during the final drive to get the Broncos into field goal range to give McManus a shot to win the game.

With four seconds left, Brandon McManus missed a 45-yard field goal attempt off of a complete shank, wide left of the mark. Before that kick, McManus had not missed an attempt under 45 yards on the season. If he made the field goal, it would have locked the Denver Broncos into the playoffs. After the miss, the Denver Broncos headed into overtime against the Bengals.

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The Denver Broncos won the overtime coin toss and elected to receive the ball (unlike the Patriots did this weekend). Osweiler converted a crucial third down pass to Daniels for the first down to extend the Denver Broncos’ opening drive of overtime. On the following play, Osweiler connected with Virgil Green on a pass, but Vontaze Burfict committed an unexplainable personal foul penalty at the end of the play to put the Denver Broncos in Bengals’ territory.

The Denver Broncos continued to convert crucial third downs, with Demaryius Thomas making an impressive one-handed catch on third-and-short to extend the drive. Thomas caught another pass, this time a screen, to put the Denver Broncos in field goal range. McManus stepped up for a 37-yard attempt this time, and he banged this one right down the middle. However, the field goal allows the Bengals one last chance to tie or take the lead.

On the Bengals’ subsequent drive, A.J. McCarron fumbled the snap and DeMarcus Ware recovered the ball to seal the victory. With the win, the Denver Broncos stay on top of the AFC West by one game over the Chiefs. The Denver Broncos can be the number-one seed in the AFC if they defeat the Chargers next week and the Patriots lose. Expect a hard-fought game next week to close out the season.

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Osweiler finished the game with 299 passing yards (27 for 39) and one touchdown; also, he had no turnovers in the game. C.J. Anderson led the rushing attack with nine carries for 73 yards with one touchdown and one (almost) costly fumble. Owen Daniels came up clutch for the Denver Broncos late, finishing with five catches for 70 yards. The Denver Broncos managed to erase a 14-point deficit to come from behind and defeat the Bengals. What a win!

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