The season has not gone as expected but that rarely happens in the NFL, especially for the Broncos. But we do have a home game on prime time Monday Night Football, and that’s usually a recipe for a great game at Mile High.
And OrangeAndBlueFan has given us a fantastic UFG to preview what better be a fantastic outcome.It’s time for Bo Nix and the offense to show they can get in sync while the defense plays lights out for four full quarters.
Week 4: Bengals at Broncos on MNF
MHR – For the second week in a row, the Broncos lost the game more than their opponent won it. Should Broncos Country be worried this is a trend or encouraged that it’s fixable?OrangeAndBlueFan: I’m not worried. I view this as progress. The Broncos carried leads late into the fourth quarter against what appear, so far, to be two of the better teams in the AFC. It didn’t work out in the end, both the Colts and Bolts were able to get timely stops on defense, and then get in range to kick the walk-off field goals, and that is definitely disappointing. But last year this team wasn’t even competitive with playoff-caliber teams. The fact that the Broncos are hanging with them this year, and able to put themselves in position to win the game late, is progress. Obviously, now they need to learn how to finish the job.
MHR – Is a prime-time game at home against a team without its elite QB a “get-right” game for Denver? Any chance they look past Browning and don’t take the Bengals serious enough?
OrangeAndBlueFan: I suppose it’s always a possibility the Broncos could look past the Bengals, especially with the defending champs next up on the schedule, but knowing it’s a Monday Night game with a national audience will likely prevent any “looking past” the opponent at hand. Also, we saw evidence last year that this team really does take it one game at a time and respects all of their opponents. The consistent blow outs of the “lesser” opponents last year tells me they have good leadership in the locker room and they take every opponent seriously. I think the only concern could be underestimating Browning’s ability because of how much he struggled last week. Burrow has been injured a lot, and Browning has typically filled in for him quite respectably. As long as the Broncos give Browning and the Bengals proper respect, I do believe this is a “get right” game.
MHR – The Bengals secondary has been decent so far this season with four interceptions, two by safety Jordan Battle. Bo Nix and his receivers haven’t been enough in sync to be a consistent threat. Will that change on Monday night for the Broncos’ offense?
OrangeAndBlueFan: What gives me optimism is that Payton’s plays have been scheming receivers wide open quite frequently. For reasons I can’t explain, Bo has been missing them way too much. I know there will be guys open down field on Monday night. The question then becomes if Bo can deliver them the ball. Where I feel good about our chances of seeing improvement here is the fact that his misses haven’t been by a lot. If you recall last year, early in the season some of Bo’s misses were pretty wild, and he was still able to get that corrected over the course of the season. His misses have been by inches this year, so I like the chances of him getting on the same page with the receivers.
MHR – JK Dobbins has ended games with pretty good stats, but it never feels like the run game is causing defenses much stress. Is this on Sean Payton for the runs that are drawn up or do the running backs just need to do better? How much of a factor does the run game need to be on Monday night?
OrangeAndBlueFan: I think it’s a bit of a misnomer to say that Payton doesn’t run the ball enough. He calls a lot of screen plays, which is really just an extension of the run game in his offense. If we counted screens as run plays, the run/pass splits would be a lot more in line with what people probably want to see. The problem is, the screen game just isn’t working. And because of that, yes, I would like to see less screens and more Dobbins (and Harvey). And especially in the second half. I don’t have stats off hand to back this up, but it seems to me Payton commits to the run game the first couple drives, and then completely abandons it in the second half. I wouldn’t mind seeing Dobbins get around 10 touches, and Harvey around 5 or so, in the second half alone Monday night, especially if the Broncos are winning like they should be.
MHR – The offensive line has protected Nix quite well, but Dax Hill has been an effective defender in a lot of areas for the Bengals – run stopping, blitzing off the edge and in coverage. Will we be talking about the O-line in a good way after the game on Monday?
OrangeAndBlueFan: I think the offensive line has been excellent as a whole so far this year. The problem has been Bo. He’s holding the ball a fraction too long, waiting to take off and run a fraction too long when things do break down, and even in clean pockets he’s moving himself into pressure (ie, taking three steps up into the pocket instead of one, like on the missed flea flicker to Mims in L.A.).
I have to imagine Davis Webb has had Bo working on this pretty hard this week, and if he can clean this up it will have a cascading affect on the entire offense, including making the line look really good! The Broncos have an elite unit. I hate to say it, but the problems that exist with the offense early in the season stem from Bo just seeming to be slightly off. Like he’s nervous or he’s pressing too much. They’re not massive problems and I have full confidence he’ll get it cleaned up sooner than later, but I think the o line is solid and doing their job.
MHR – Evan Engram is back at practice. Do you think we might finally see our much hyped “joker” play soon? Can he be a big difference-maker for this offense?
OrangeAndBlueFan: First of all, I’ve never bought into this idea that Evan Engram is a “Joker.” When I think of a Joker, I think of Jimmy Graham in Sean Payton’s offense, or what someone like Tyler Warren could become. Evan Engram is not the caliber of either of those guys. That said, he is a very talented Tight End. Better than any we have had around Broncos Country in quite some time, and his presence on the field will absolutely make a difference. One of Bo’s strengths at Oregon was getting the ball out quickly on short routes in the middle of the field. We haven’t really seen a lot of that in his 21 games in Denver, and I think Engram would really help add that element to the playbook and make this offense much more dynamic.
MHR – The Broncos’ defense started strong against a bad team, then faltered against what has turned out to be an undefeated team and then last week looked strong again until the final two drives. What gives with this?
OrangeAndBlueFan: The other team gets paid, too. Even the ’85 Bears didn’t go undefeated. The Colts have an actual “Joker” in Tyler Warren, and a player like that in the middle of the field has given the Broncos fits seemingly for millennia. And it will continue to give the Broncos fits as long as Greenlaw is unable to get on the field. Last week, the Chargers made plays with their heart when they needed it the most. That touchdown completion to tie the game was insane. There’s absolutely no logical way that should have been a completed pass – the defense was excellent. And yet it was completed and they did tie the game. If we’re going to see some untimely breakdown on defense on Monday, my bet is it will be Moss getting torched by Higgins for a deep touchdown. I think the defense has been really solid, though, outside of the first half in Indy, and I don’t have any reason to think that will change Monday. At the end of the day, we’ve lost two games to two very good teams on walk-off field goals. There are good 1-2 teams and bad 1-2 teams, and I firmly believe the Broncos are one of the good 1-2 teams.
MHR – Jake Browning as the starting QB should be a gold mine for Nik Bonitto and Jonathan Cooper, not to mention Zach Allen and John Franklin Meyers. This defense has 12 sacks, the most in the NFL through three games. How many do they get on Monday?
OrangeAndBlueFan: I do think the pass rush will feast on Monday, but I don’t want to assume anything crazy just because of a backup QB. Because he has been with Cincy for a while now, and Burrow has been injured a lot, we have seen a lot of Jake Browning, and he’s been a really good backup. He did struggle last week quite a bit, but I think it would be a mistake to underestimate him. It’s entirely possible last week totally ruined his confidence and we get a repeat of it. It’s also possible he uses last week as fuel to rise to the occasion and have the best game of his career. More likely, it will be somewhere in the middle – he’s probably not going to serve up three picks, but he might hang onto the ball a tick longer to ensure that, which would be welcome news to Nik Bonitto. So while it’s tempting to go crazy and predict 8 or 9 sacks, I think reality will be we get a lot pressure, but I’ll temper expectations to 5 sacks.
MHR – Ja’Marr Chase is likely to draw Patrick Surtain for the majority of the game, which will leave Tee Higgins against either rookie Jahdae Barron and/or Riley Moss. How much of a problem could Higgins be for his defenders if the edge rushers aren’t causing trouble beforehand?
OrangeAndBlueFan: Ah yes, the Bengals receivers! This is what makes them such a fun team to watch. Ja’Marr Chase vs. PS2 is best in the league vs. best in the league and is must-see-TV. Chase isn’t going to be totally shut down, but I do trust PS2 to do his thing and limit Chase to more pedestrian numbers. Moss on Higgins is my biggest fear because of last year, and the fact that Moss has looked a step behind in coverage numerous times against lesser receivers than Higgins. I believe this is the key matchup of the game. I don’t think Cincy has a realistic shot at winning this game without Higgins putting up massive stats. To your point, the pass rush wrecking the game would go a long way to helping out in that regard.
MHR – The Bengals’ run game hasn’t been great, and the Broncos’ run defense hasn’t been great enough (in my opinion). Who wins that matchup this week?
OrangeAndBlueFan: I have Chase Brown on my primary fantasy team, so I am very aware of how dismal their run game has been to start the year! And I don’t think it gets much better this week. I really do believe this is a “get right” game for the Broncos and Cincy is going to be trailing too much in the game to even consider running the ball much at all. I would say the Broncos front wins this battle by default due to lack of volume. But the Broncos do have a habit of giving up a big run per game, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they do it again Monday. I just don’t think it’s going to have a huge impact on the outcome. My fantasy team certainly wouldn’t mind a 60 yard house call by Brown, as long as it’s in garbage time and Stidham is coming out onto the field afterward.
MHR – Which ONE player on offense and defense has to be an MVP on Sunday for this game to end with a check in the W column?
OrangeAndBlueFan: Let’s not overcomplicate this. Bo needs to be better, and Bonitto needs to get to the QB. If they are our MVP’s, I think this is an easy win.
MHR – What is one word to describe the season so far? For the for this team for the rest of the season?
OrangeAndBlueFan: The season so far: Underwhelming. The rest of the year: Still-hopeful (yes, I’m cheating with the hyphen! Lol)
Predictions
Stats for BO NIX? 21 of 31 for 255 yards, 3 TDs, 4 rushes for 36 yards. 2 sacks. 0 turnovers.
Stats for each Broncos RB? Dobbins: 18 carries for 93 yards, 1 TD, 1 reception for 8 yards. Harvey: 11 carries for 42 yards, 2 receptions for 22 yards, 1 receiving TD
Number of yards receiving/TDs for the receivers? Sutton: 8 receptions for 103 yards, 1 TD; Engram: 4 receptions for 48 yards, 1 TD; Franklin: 2 receptions for 17 yards; Mims: 2 receptions for 38 yards; 2 other miscellaneous receptions for 19 yards by some combo of Trautman, Adkins, Bryant or Sherfield (a friend and I have made a drinking game out of “# 63 has reported as eligible,” so I would love to see them actually get Palcho the ball one of these times!)
Longest FG from Lutz this week? 1 for 1, from 46 yards
Number of sacks to Jake Browning? 5
Broncos player with the most tackles? Flip a coin between Hufanga and Singleton. I’ll go Singleton this week.
Who gets the first sack of the game for the Broncos? Let’s go outside the box. Jahdae Barron
Who gets the most sacks? Bonitto 2, and Cooper, Allen and Barron each with 1
How many INTs/FF/FR for the Bengals D? 0/0/0
How many INTs/FF/FR for the Broncos D? Moss gets some revenge with a pick. One of the sacks results in a fumble recovered by the Broncos
How many penalties for the Broncos? It’s a get right game. They clean things up and only commit 5 penalties
How many stupid penalties for the Broncos? Even in a clean game, they still gotta have one boneheaded penalty, right? This is the Broncos we’re talking about.
Final Score? 31 – 10 good guys
The Favorites
Favorite Broncos win ever? Obviously pick a Super Bowl….but outside of that, it’s a toss up between the Tebow to DT OT win over Pittsburgh in the 2011 playoffs (January 2012), or the 2005 playoffs (January 2006) win over Brady and the Pats to knock off the dynasty (that was the first NFL game I ever went to in person, so I’d probably pick that one).
Favorite Peyton Manning win? I know he was physically done by this point and we won because of THAT D!, but it doesn’t get better than an all-time great riding into the sunset with a ring. SB50, all the way. Second place is probably the 2012 MNF comeback against the Chargers to start the winning streak. 3rd place: The Colts 2006 AFCCG win over the Pats (what can I say, first and foremost I’m a Broncos fan, but I’m also just a football fan in general, and that was a great game and I was rooting for Manning and Indy).
Favorite John Elway win? I’ll go with the 98 Super Bowl for the same “riding off into the sunset” reason. But despite my “middle age” status, I wasn’t around as a Broncos fan for the Elway years (see “How You Became A Broncos Fan” section for more info)
Favorite win by any other Broncos QB? Plummer and Tebow were the QBs for my two favorite Broncos wins outside of their Super Bowls.
Team you love to beat the most in the AFC West? In this moment in time, KC. Not taking era into account, Raiders.
Coach you despise most in the NFL? Pete Carroll has always annoyed me. Now that he’s with the Raiders, need I say more?
Team you hate to lose to the most in the rest of the AFC (outside AFC West)? Steelers. Earlier I referenced the 2005 season win in the playoffs over the Pats being the first NFL game I ever attended in person. I also went to the AFCCG the next week against Pittsburgh. I’ve never left a sporting event early in my entire life just because my team was getting blown out, and I wasn’t about to start that night. But by the end of the game it was just me, my friend who I forced to stay because we drove there together, and the 40,000 Steelers fans who took over Mile High. That was brutal and I’ve despised the Steelers ever since.
NFC team you could cheer for in the Super Bowl? Like everyone else has said in these articles, Detroit winning a Super Bowl would be a great story. Beyond the Lions, I’ll catch heat for this in the comments, I’m sure, but I grew up a Cowboys fan, sooooo…… there’s also that.
NFC team you’d want to face more than any other in the Super Bowl? None of the same players and coaches are there obviously, but who wouldn’t like a little revenge against Seattle?
Toughest game remaining on the schedule? Easy this year. Week 5. Philly. The tush push is impossible enough to stop as it is, hopefully the refs can at least figure out how to officiate it correctly by then.
Broncos player on the current roster? He’s the best player in the league on an entire side of the ball, and I wear #2 to every home game, so I gotta go PS2.
Favorite Broncos player of all time not named John Elway? PFM. My son, Peyton, may or may not be named after him.
Favorite new guy/rookie on the team? I play in an IDP fantasy league and have been a big fan of Dre Greenlaw for years. If he had been able to be on the field yet for all of Broncos Country to see what a difference-maker he is, he’d be my easy answer. But since he hasn’t actually suited up as a Bronco yet, I’ll go with Hufanga. Yeah, he contributed to the parade of penalties last week, but he hits hard and clean and is always around the ball. He’s one of those 100% on every play guys who you can’t help but love.
Food/Snack you have to eat on game day? I have season tickets with a friend and we tailgate for a few hours before every home game. We alternate weeks cooking, and do it up right! So it isn’t the same every week, but it’s ALWAYS good eats! He made muffaletta sandwiches for the opener (I was born in New Orleans, where the muffaletta was invented. It’s one of my favorite foods on earth). I’m making a CO classic, pork green chili, for Monday night. This is only our fourth year with tickets, but trying to one-up the previous week with our tailgate food has quickly become a tradition!
Favorite game analyst/commentator? I think Greg Olsen should announce every NFL game. Dude is on point.
Who is on your Broncos Mt. Rushmore? All-time: Elway, Gradishar, TD, Manning. In my era as a Broncos fan (since 2004): Manning, Von, DT, and I’ll go with Champ just barely over PS2 only because PS2 is still fairly early in his career
Give me one word/phrase/cliche to describe your hope for this season.
To be the best you gotta beat the best. It’s no secret we completely dominated the bad teams we played last year, but struggled a bit against the playoff-caliber teams. So far it’s been much the same this year (although we have had excellent opportunity to beat the playoff teams). With the loss of Burrow, Cincy is now one of those bad teams we should easily beat. Assuming we do, can we clean up the discipline on the penalties and can Bo re-find his accuracy and stop missing wide open receivers, and then use this week as a jumping off point for the rest of the season. Because if this team can do those two things, they are absolutely capable of beating anyone. If they can’t do those two things, they are absolutely capable of losing to anyone.
How did you become a Broncos fan?
I was an adult before I became a Broncos fan addict. I was born in New Orleans and grew up in Dallas during the Cowboys 90’s dynasty. So I was a Cowboys fan as a kid, and the Saints were my #2. I ended up in Denver for college in 1999, but I was playing on a golf scholarship so my Sundays were always spent either practicing or traveling to tournaments, so I didn’t really follow football for those 4 years.
After college, I stayed in CO and started following football again, but had lost any feeling of loyalty to the teams I grew up rooting for. Colorado was the first place I lived that really felt like home to me, so it felt really natural to start rooting for the Broncos. By the time I attended my first ever NFL game in person – the 2005 playoffs (January 2006) win over the Patriots – I was already a Broncos fan, but that game was basically a life changing experience, and I’ve never looked back since. Getting to be live in that environment for Champ’s 100 yard pick 6 on Brady was the most electric, jaw on the ground, hair standing up on the back of my neck moment I’ve ever experienced.
