The Denver Broncos emerged from Paul Brown Stadium victorious on Sunday afternoon having dominated both offensively and defensively – especially in the decisive fourth quarter. The third phase of the game, however, was more of a mixed bag, beginning with the opening kickoff.
Offensively, Trevor Siemian quieted his critics with a 23-for-35 day, passing for 312 yards and four touchdowns in the 29-17 victory. On defense, the Broncos held Andy Dalton to 206 yards on 21-of-31 passing with one interception and, most importantly, no touchdowns.
Broncos special teams, meanwhile, created an important turnover, but also put the team in bad field position on multiple occasions, cost the team a point and failed to pin the Bengals deep in their own zone at any point.
Cody Latimer twice returned kickoffs from inside the end zone only to wind up short of the 20-yard line, let alone the new 25-yard marker for touchbacks, including on the opening kickoff. From five yards deep in his own end zone to start the game, Cody Latimer only made it out to the 14-yard line. The Broncos would go three-and-out on their opening drive and concede a long touchdown drive by the Begnals to follow. Early in the fourth quarter Latimer took a kickoff from the goal line out to the 18, getting flipped head over heels in the process.
On top of the bad returns by Latimer, Kapri Bibbs took an unnecessary roughness penalty on punt coverage, giving the Bengals an extra 15 yards and the ball at their own 42-yard line to start their second drive.
Zaire Anderson helped the special teams unit turnaround when he forced Adam Jones to fumble on a punt return. Shiloh Keo recovered the ball and three plays later the Broncos were in the end zone courtesy of a 41-yard touchdown pass to Emmanuel Sanders.
Latimer would get some personal redemption a few drives later when he returned a kickoff 46 yards to set up Denver’s second touchdown drive of the game. The kicking unit would follow that with a flub of its own, however.
Following Sanders’ second touchdown of the half, long snapper Casey Kreiter could not contain Margus Hunt, who blocked the PAT attempt and keep Denver’s lead at two at the half.
Things were less eventful in the second half, especially in the fourth quarter where Denver outscored the Bengals 13-3, but there were still several special teams points of note.
Latimer had another unsuccessful run back from inside the end zone. Riley Dixon ended the day with a serviceable net punting average, but he failed to pin the Bengals inside their 20 on any of his five punts on the day. Denver also failed to convert a two-point conversion because of a failed block (and possibly the terrible turf at Paul Brown Stadium).
Brandon McManus made his only field goal attempt and converted his other two PATs; Cincinnati returned just two of his six kickoffs for a total of 40 yards.
In the end, Denver’s dominant defense, which again forced a late turnover, played a huge part in a Broncos win. The offense finally awoke and did their part. Despite inconsistencies, the win probably doesn’t happen without special teams, but they definitely need to eliminate some mistakes in the third phase.
Here’s what people were saying about how special teams impacted the day…
Cody Latimer makes an ill-advised return on the opening kick…
Poor decision by Latimer to bring it out of the end zone. Cost the Broncos 11 yards.
— Andrew Mason (@MaseDenver) September 25, 2016
Kapri Bibbs follows that up with a bad penalty in punt coverage…
Kapri Bibbs, kept on the team over Ronnie Hillman because of his excellent special teams play, cannot have penalties like that on road
— Zac Stevens (@ZacStevensDNVR) September 25, 2016
Zaire Anderson helps turn the tide with a forced fumble on a punt…
With fumble recovery, Broncos now have a takeaway in 9 consecutive games (3rd longest streak in NFL).
— Patrick Smyth (@psmyth12) September 25, 2016
Latimer had a 46-yard kickoff return to earn some redemption…
That's @CodyLatimer14 in a nutshell. Makes a mistake on opening kick. Makes the next one count.
— Casey Light (@lightonhisfeet) September 25, 2016
A blocked PAT kept the game within two points at the half…
McManus' PAT is blocked by Margus Hunt, who now has TWO blocked placekicks this year. The lead stays at 16-14.
— Andrew Mason (@MaseDenver) September 25, 2016
https://twitter.com/ToddRomeroTV/status/780117143866134528
Riley Dixon ended the day with a (young) career best 46.2 net punting average and was on pace for an even better day until his last kick…
Riley Dixon's net average is 47.8 yards today.
— Andrew Mason (@MaseDenver) September 25, 2016
Riley Dixon ended with nearly an identical line as Kevin Huber, matching him in every stat category except punts inside the 20. Huber had three, Dixon had zero…
So the punting game was a virtual push except for one key category. #DENvsCIN pic.twitter.com/QPRhdYPb9m
— Casey Light (@lightonhisfeet) September 25, 2016
A failed two-point conversion kept it a five-point game in the fourth quarter. A Broncos INT late helped stomach the special teams gaffes…
2 point conversion is no good. Turf monster got Siemian as he tried to cut. Broncos lead 22-17 with 6:56 to go. #4Broncos
— Michael Spencer (@MichaelCBS4) September 25, 2016
Missed block by Sambrailo on the 2-pt conversion try.
— Words Matter (@SportsPen) September 25, 2016