The Denver Broncos have their backs against the wall after dropping two straight games to the Indianapolis Colts and Los Angeles Chargers. Monday Night Football’s matchup against the Cincinatti Bengals is a must-win game for them in order to salvage their season and get back on the right track. Here are three players I’m looking for to have better games this week to help Denver get back to being a .500 ball cub.
Luke Wattenberg — Center
When you take a look around to glance at advanced metrics and analytics, outlets like
Pro Football Focus, ESPN, and several others speak highly of the Broncos’ offensive line. That’s especially true with respect to pass blocking ability. However, there is one player who has regressed in that regard to start the season and that’s fourth-year center Luke Wattenberg.
Earlier in the week, our in-house offensive line guru Ross Allen broke down the tape from Wattenberg’s performance against the Chargers. It wasn’t a terrible performance, but his inability to diagnose stunts and deal with unique pressures Jesse Minter was dialing up certainly caused a lot of chaos on the interior protecting Bo Nix. That has also been a common theme in other games this season.
The Bengals’ interior defensive line doesn’t feature the premier players some of Denver’s other opponents had. Given such, that gives me some optimism Wattenberg can have a rebound game and be more consistent in the trenches. They will need him to protect Nix and help jumpstart their heavy zone rushing attack to secure a victory on Monday night.
RJ Harvey — Running Back
The Broncos have had a lot of success running the ball with J.K. Dobbins on first down when they choose to do so. Overall, on 41 rushing attempts, Dobbins has gained 222 yards (5.4 yards per attempt) and 3 touchdowns. That’s quality production from the veteran who has proved to be a solid addition to their backfield to start the season.
Unfortunately, rookie second-round pick RJ Harvey has had a slow start to his season. Harvey had one explosive run for 50 yards against the Tennessee Titans in Week 1. Unfortunately, on 12 other carries to date, he has only amassed 30 yards. That’s certainly not going to cut it if he wants to play even a complimentary role in the offense. Earlier this week, Head Coach Sean Payton fielded questions on Harvey’s share and role in the offense and what to expect moving forward.
One area Payton mentioned that he hopes Harvey can be featured more is as a receiving option for Nix. On six receiving targets, the former UCF standout has just five catches for 30 yards. During his time with the Golden Knights, Harvey demonstrated he was a terrific outside zone runner and a quality pass catcher out the backfield. With Nix’s penchant for short passes and the screen game, perhaps Harvey’s confidence and production could get a much-needed boost featuring him as a primary outlet option out of the backfield against the Bengals.
Jonathon Cooper — Edge Rusher
Fourth-year edge rusher Nik Bonitto has had a hot start to his ’25 campaign. Though Broncos Country shouldn’t sleep on how well veteran Jonathon Cooper is playing opposite of him. In fact, after last week’s performance, Cooper now boasts a higher pass rush win-rate than Bonitto. With 10 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, and 2 sacks through three games, the former Ohio State standout has continued to build upon his breakout season in ‘24 where he had a career best 10.5 sacks.
In order to help achieve a victory, the Broncos will need Cooper to play at a high level and get after quarterback Jake Browning. Cincinnati’s offensive tackles Orlando Brown Jr. and Amarius Mims have struggled a bit this season in pass protection and have given up multiple sacks. I think watching Cooper go up against both of them is a matchup for fans to keep their eye on.
I’d specifically like to see him be aggressive against Mims. His on the field performance to date simply hasn’t matched up with his athleticism or draft profile. It wouldn’t surprise me to see Cooper notch a few sacks under the bright lights on Monday night to keep Denver’s pass rushing attack atop the NFL in sacks.
