Coming off an embarrassing loss to the Vikings in week 3, the Bengals were looking to stay above .500 on the season. They travelled to Denver to take on the Broncos in a primetime Monday Night Football matchup. The Broncos, meanwhile, were coming off 2 straight losses, and were looking to get back to .500. Missing Joe Burrow, Shemar Stewart, and Noah Fant, the Bengals entered this one as heavy underdogs.
Despite that, the game started out well for the Bengals. Jake Browning got things going by completing a short pass to Chase Brown, before then finding Tee Higgins for 19 yards. Mitchell Tinsley caught a 9 yard pass, and the offence continued to add a handful of shorter gains. Unfortunately, the drive then stalled out inside the Denver 10, after Browning failed to connect with Higgins on 3rd down. McPherson came out to kick a 26 yard field goal, and the Bengals took a 3-0 lead.
The defence forced a 3 and out on their opening drive, and things seemed promising for the Bengals. However, it was quickly downhill from there.
The offence punted, and the Broncos found the end zone on their next drive. A 12 yard completion from Nix to Sutton moved the chains on 3rd down, and Nix found Trautman for 26 on the next play. The Broncos continued to move the ball deeper into Cincinnati territory, and they capped off the drive with a 6 yard scramble by Nix, giving them a 7-3 lead.
In the 2nd quarter, the Broncos offence continued to roll. A 16 yard TD by Mims capped off an 80 play drive, before a 68 yard drive got them down to the Cincinnati 1 yard line, only for Demetrius Knight to come up with a big 4th down interception.
Knightâs interception could have been a big momentum booster, but the Bengals, again, went 3 and out. With a minute left in the half, the Broncos delivered one more blow, going on yet another TD drive. A big 28 yard completion to Mims on 3rd down kept the drive alive for them. Shortly thereafter, Nix found Sutton from 20 yards out for the TD. The Broncos took a 21-3 lead into the half.
The 3rd quarter was better from a defensive standpoint, as they forced two Bronco punts. However, the offence produced more of the same, punting the ball twice, with one drive being a 3 and out.
Denver added one more TD in garbage time. It was a drive in which they passed the ball only a couple of times, instead gashing the Bengals in the run game. But the TD did come on a passing play, with Nix finding Harvey out of the backfield for a 12 yard score.
The Bengals fall 28-3 to the Broncos and drop to 2-2 on the season. They return home next week to take on the Detroit Lions and their high powered offence.
Thumbnail Image Via: Erik Drost (CC)