Denver Broncos 20, Cincinnati Bengals 17
The Denver Broncos clinched their 22nd payoff berth in franchise history Monday night with another thrilling victory. It took overtime to beat the Cincinnati Bengals by just three points. Once again it was a tale of two halves, but this time the Broncos started off extremely slow, finding themselves at a 14-point deficit before turning it around.
The Bengals, led by A.J. McCarron, started off with authority, holding onto the ball for 21:14 of the first half. The Broncos top-ranked defense looked unable to stop their balanced attack and couldn’t get off the field. After weeks of minimal and ineffective halftime adjustments, the Broncos finally came to life after the break.
Brock Osweiler commanded the Denver offense from mostly shotgun in the second half and placed the Bengals top-ten defense on their heels. They outscored the Bengals 17-3 in the second half and overtime to comeback in spectacular fashion. Brandon McManus made things interesting after Osweiler guided the Broncos down the field with nearly no time remaining for a 49-yard, game-winning field goal attempt. The ball sailed far left and extra time was needed on a frigid Monday night.
The Broncos had all the momentum despite the missed field goal and they won the coin flip. They used five minutes exactly to again pass their way down the field. This time, McManus nailed his third attempt, this time from 37 yards to reach a score of 20-17.
The Broncos then finished the game in familiar fashion. On just the second play of overtime the Bengals fumbled a snap and Broncos team captain DeMarcus Ware jumped on the ball for the win. It was the eighth victory (out of 11) in which they won by one score and their third overtime victory of the season. Here’s a look at the best-of-the-best from Monday’s win.
Best Quotes
Head coach Gary Kubiak on the big win:
“What this football team went out there and did tonight is truly special. We had our backs against the wall coming off of two losses. We’re back at home in front of the best fans in world on prime time Monday night and we knew we had to get a win. We went out there as a team, our defense played lights out in the second half, the offense got things going and special teams came up when we needed them. It’s a huge team win and that’s what the story truly is.”
Kubiak on first-half struggles and future of the team heading into the final week of the season:
“I guess that could bother some people, but I’ve been doing this long enough. To me, it actually excites me to watch what took place in the first half last week and what took place in the second half this week because that’s what this league is about at the end—finding it all. They know. They know what they’re capable of. We do have to go find the consistency, but we have shown some flashes of being able to do that. As I said all last week talking to you guys, we’re going to hang on to the positives. We’re going to keep working on the negatives that aren’t happening, but we’re going to stay positive and battle. We feel very confident in the direction that we’re headed.”
Bradley Roby on the defense’s confidence when the game came down to overtime:
“Just like the beginning of the season when we were getting all those wins on defense, that’s what we see ourselves doing. If it comes down to that we expect ourselves to step up and we did it once again. [DeMarcus] Ware was in the right place at the right time and we got the win.”
Best play
The Broncos came out of half and scored quickly, cutting the Bengals lead to 14-10 with nearly a whole half to play, but they would not take their first lead until they were well into the fourth quarter. However the play to go up 17-14 truly swung the momentum of the game to the home team.
On the eighth drive of the evening for the Broncos, a 13-yard pass to Demaryius Thomas pushed the them into Bengals territory and on the second play of the drive they went to Anderson on a run left. “I think it was a tight zone, and C.J. [Anderson] wound the ball back. Emmanuel did a great job blocking the corner. It wasn’t a crack toss type play. It was more of a zone type play,” Kubiak said of the run call.
Anderson broke it wide to the left and made a man miss while several receivers made blocks. Anderson broke an additional tackle and got to the second level.
“You go to give it to [Demaryius Thomas] for blocking the corner and having me one-on-one with the safety and me, one-on-one with the safety is a pretty good idea,” Anderson said after the win.
He burned the safety to the corner of the field and took the hand off 39 yards for a touchdown. It was reminiscent of his game-wining overtime touchdown run against the New England Patriots but the three-point lead was not enough for the win just yet.
Honorable mention: The Broncos defense started slowly but finished incredibly strong. All that was needed to finish the game was one final stop in overtime. They did it in spectacular fashion, as always. The Bengals had squandered their one forced turnover, a forced C.J. Anderson fumble in the fourth quarter, but the Broncos would not do the same. On the second play of overtime the visitors made a costly error. Bengals center Russ Bodine snapped the ball in shotgun and quarterback A.J. McCarron was not ready.
“The snap caught me by surprise. I was looking to see how they were adjusting to A.J. Green coming in motion and it slipped through my hands and hit my rib protector and bounced off,” McCarron said after the loss.
Waiting there was DeMarcus Ware. “Oh yeah, I knew that I had the ball. When I saw that on the ground, I was so close to it and I was like, ‘There is no way that somebody is going to take this ball from me.’ It felt good to finish the game that way. We thought that we were going to finish it with that field goal.”
The fumble recovery sealed the victory, ended the game and clinched a playoff berth for the Broncos.
Best Statistics
The Broncos have been a team of halves for four straight games and Monday night it was the first half that really put themselves in a hole. They managed just five first downs on only three drives in the first half and defensively, they gave up two touchdowns and numerous yards to the Bengals talented offense. Changes were needed at halftime down 11 points and they did just that.
“You know what, the first half, defensively, we really struggled. [Cincinnati] played lights out. It was a little bit like the Pittsburgh game we were in last week, [but] the shoe on the other foot. I think the drive right before the half was positive for us, but we talked at halftime. ‘Hey, we’ve had some struggles in the second half. It’s time to play the best second half we’ve played all year,’ and we did that tonight,” Kubiak said.
They came out firing on offense and put up 301 of their 390 total net yards in the game. They also went with a pass-heavy, up-tempo offense to get the Bengals defense off-balanced.
“Our conversation at halftime was to try to pick up the tempo a little bit, show them a look that we have not shown on tape,” Osweiler said. He finished the game with 27 completions on 39 attempts and one touchdown for a passer rating of 100.3. He was aided significantly by the run game that finished with a 5.4 yards per carry average on 21 carries for a total of 113 yards.
The defense was nearly unrecognizable in the first half. They allowed McCarron, in his second start of his career, to march up and down the field twice on drives of 13 and 15 plays for two touchdowns. They ate up 21:14 of the first half and ran and passed all over the defense. At halftime some coverages changed and they disguised some things but the biggest adjustment was simply challenging themselves.
“Really, [Defensive Coordinator] Coach Wade [Phillips] leaned on me and [Aqib Talib] again. That’s what we do. We play man- to-man. We bring the heat and that’s what we kept doing. We just kind of stuck to what we did, and we just made enough plays today,” Chris Harris Jr. said of the halftime changes. “We loaded everybody in the box, challenged them to throw the ball and that’s how we were able to shut down the run. That’s what we do. No. 1, load the box, and we knew we had to shut down the run.”
The Broncos defense played a spectacular second half of football and shut down the Bengals offense. After allowing the visitors to convert 7 of 8 first half third downs they went on to only allowing the Bengals to convert 3 of their final 9. Green caught 5 passes in the first half for 57 yards and a touchdown and looked to have his way with any cornerback on the field but the third and fourth quarter was entirely different. He finished with the same numbers, going catch less down the stretch. The Broncos also shut down the run. They allowed 108 total rushing yards in the game, only 23 of those yards came in the second half. In fact, the Broncos defense only allowed the Bengals three points and 90 net yards in the second half of the ball game.
MVP
“I’ve said all along that it’s part of growing up. If you’re going to be a good player in this league, you have to block out noise. That’s just part of it. He’s done a great job of that. I think the team has done a great job of that and rallied behind him,” Kubiak said of Osweiler.
The young quarterback did not let the limited time of possession in the first half get him down and he once again, in his short career as the Broncos starting quarterback, won a game late against a formidable foe. He finished the game with 299 passing yards and completed the big throws in the fourth quarter and overtime to win the game. He hit Owen Daniels five times for 70 yards, most of which were in the final moments of regulation and overtime.
“It seems like any time I throw the football to Owen, he is making a play and he’s catching that ball. When the game is on the line, you want to look for your guys that you know are going to make plays. Fortunately for this team, there is a lot of guys in that locker room,” Osweiler said of his targets.
He hit Daniels for two big plays at the end of regulation for a combined 42 yards but a McManus missed field goal forced overtime. The Broncos won the ball on the coin toss and Osweiler proceeded lead them down the field quickly again. The Broncos ran the ball only three times on the game-winning drive, displaying their confidence in their quarterback. The one major factor that was highlighted by the games final play, a fumble by McCarron is what made Osweiler the MVP of the game and something he has focused on since being named the starter.
“One specific thing that I’ve learned? Obviously protecting the football,” Osweiler said. “When you protect the football and you have the defense that plays the way that our defense plays, you’re going to give your team a chance to win the game.”
Honorable mention: Several players had big plays down the stretch for the offense. Thomas and Sanders had big plays to get them back in the game. Sanders had a catch that set up the Broncos’ first field goal and he had the teams only receiving touchdown that cut the Bengals lead to 14-10. Thomas had a big third down catch to set up the game-winning field goal as well but Daniels because the previously mentioned stats and moments of his catches was the most important receiver Monday.
Defensive MVP
Danny Trevathan led the team in tackles and heart Monday night. He quietly had 10 tackles in the first half alone and overtook the team season total tackles lead when the game came to an end. The cornerbacks certainly were on high alert and had a big responsibility but Trevathan led the defense for the entire game, not just a half. “Overall, I felt like I played a solid game but in my eyes I can always get better,” he said after the win.
The Broncos stopped the Bengals cold after a 14-point first half, which came in large part due to their inability to beat Denver up the middle. Trevathan and company took away the run first and dared the Bengals to throw. Trevathan also played well in coverage. He has become a leader on a very talented group and was not phased when McManus missed and sent the game to overtime.
“I don’t ever jump or flinch. I am always the guy that looks to the next play because as long as there is time on that clock you can make something happen,” he said of overtime.
He wasn’t the one who made the game-winning fumble recovery, but his inspiring play certainly helped propel the team over the top to get the victory. His 12 total tackles at the end of the game was the high on either team by more five.
Honorable mention: All three cornerbacks showed great resolve after a rough start to the game and a terrible Week 15. In the first half Bengals wide receivers combined for 7 catches for 77 yards and a touchdown. In the second half they only caught four passes for 37 yards.
“We all similarly had plays that we normally make that we didn’t make in the first half,” Roby said of the cornerbacks. “We knew we just had to weather the storm and just do our job.”
Up next
The Broncos win clinched their playoff berth but next week also holds some significance. The San Diego Chargers will come to Sports Authority Field at Mile High for the regular season finale ready to spoil the Broncos shot at the AFC West title, chances at first-round byes and even the top playoff seed. Kubiak understands that despite their postseason guarantee, next week holds some significance.
“Yeah, it would be very big for our football [team],” he said Monday night. “I mean we’ve got a great opportunity this weekend. It’s going to be a very quick turnaround after a five-quarter football game. It’s going to be very tough on us physically. I’ve got to get them ready to go, but they understand that. They didn’t want a lot of atta-boy’s tonight. They’re ready to go to work next week. I could feel that already.”
The Broncos need a win and some help next Sunday. The Broncos need a win or Kansas City Chiefs loss to claim the AFC West title. They would clinch a first-round bye with a win or a Chiefs and Bengals loss. They would clinch the No. 1 seed with a win and a New England Patriots loss.
Email Sam at sam@milehighsports.com and follow him on Twitter @SamCowhick.