The Denver Broncos needed a win to keep pace in a fierce battle in the AFC West. On Monday Night Football, they rose to the occasion and made that happen. Through four quarters, the Broncos were able to set
the tone to secure a decisive 28-3 victory against the Cincinatti Bengals to move to 2-2 on the season. Here are some instant reactions and takeaways from tonight’s impressive performance Monday Night Football.
The highs and lows of the Bo Nix Experience
Second-year signal caller Bo Nix has had an up-and-down start to his sophomore season in the National Football League. After having one of the top rookie campaigns in league history, the results through three games had Broncos Country hoping for more. The highlight throws have been noticeable. However, Nix’s decision making and footwork at times has been questionable leading to inconsistency on offense.
Tonight, I feel that Nix played a lot better than last week against the Los Angeles Chargers. By game’s end, he was 29-of-42 for 326 yards, two passing touchdowns, a rushing touchdown, and 1 interception. He looked far more poised and comfortable in the pocket and delivered string of quality throws over the middle of the field and on third down. When Nix steps up in the pocket with his feet set—great things can happen—and we saw that routinely this evening. It was by far his most complete performance of the season.
The only major issue I had with him tonight was the interception late in the second quarter deep in the red zone on fourth down. It’s simply inexcusable in that situation to throw the ball right to Bengals’ rookie linebacker Demetrius Knight Jr. While the Broncos were able to get away with that mistake tonight, I’m hoping Nix can be a bit more level-headed and secure with the football—especially next week across the pond taking on the Philadelphia Eagles.
All Systems Go: Discussing Head Coach Sean Payton’s offensive game plan
One of the most common critiques I’ve seen across Broncos Country start the season has been relative to Payton’s play-calling and gameplans. Tonight, outside a few exceptions, I thought it was arguably the best offensive gameplan Denver has had all season long. As mentioned above, Nix did a great job throwing the ball for the most part. But what has me the most excited is how great the running game looked.
Earlier in the week, Payton had discussed how to better get second-round pick RJ Harvey in the mix offensively. He specifically mentioned his skills as a receiver. The focus to get him going in that respect was in full effect tonight. Harvey had 14 rushes for 58 yards and a 4.1 yard-per-carry average. As a receiver, he had five targets and reeled in four of them for 40 yards, including a 12-yard touchdown reception late in the fourth quarter. Kudos to Harvey for his best game of his rookie campaign.
But Harvey wasn’t the only Broncos running back who impressed. In the past 38 games of the Payton Era, the franchise did not have a single ball carrier amass over 100 rushing yards on the ground. That changed tonight with J.K. Dobbins who had himself one awesome game. The veteran addition had 16 carries for 101 yards and an impressive 6.3 yard-per-carry average.
As I’ve authored numerous times, Dobbins is a decisive runner with great vision. The more the Broncos continue to feed him on first downs and in short-yardage situations, the better their offense will be. The results speak for themselves. Denver was much better in key situations, especially third downs. The rushing game doing a great job certainly played a big role in that. Tonight’s performance from Denver’s running back duo should give fans some optimism heading into October’s slate of games.
Vance Joseph’s aggressive defense helped get the job done against the Bengals
Leading up to tonight’s game, Defensive Coordinator Vance Joseph spoke about the importance of limiting the big-play ability of the Bengals’ offense, specifically relative to wide receivers Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. They were able to accomplish just that.
Quarterback Jake Browning wasn’t able to handle the pressure under the bright lights in place of the injured Joe Burrow. The Broncos’ defense put the lock down on their aerial attack, holding Browning to complete just 14-of-25 passes for 125 yards. Denver’s defensive front seven was able to generate good pressure on the backup quarterback and came away with three sacks to bring their season total to fifteen through four games.
Overall, the defense held the Bengals to just 159 yards of total offense and only 9 first downs. Heck, the Bengals had more penalties (11) than first downs. That’s a pretty impressive feat. I’m glad the Broncos’ defense was able to play at a high level and take care of business. Hats off to Joseph and the players for dominating all night long.
Other thoughts and musings:
- One player I hoped would have a much better game than prior outings was center Luke Wattenberg. Unfortunately, the fourth-year pro had five penalties called against him, along with back-to-back penalties on their first drive in the fourth quarter. As I’ve authored before, I’m not sure Alex Forsyth replacing him this early in the year is a viable solution, but if he continues to struggle and play undisciplined, the Broncos may not have a choice here.
- Troy Franklin made some nice catches tonight and was able to gain good yardage after the catch. However, I have him credited with several drops and at least two that could have resulted in big plays down the field. Hopefully he can clean those up and improve upon his 50-percent catch-rate tonight. The Broncos certainly need a reliable second option after veteran Courtland Sutton.
- Broncos Country was eager to see the offense put together a great performance. The team delivered in that respect tonight. Tonight’s offensive effort resulted in over 500 yards. That’s the most in over a decade dating back to the 2014 season. That’s encouraging to see.
