Broncos Fall to Bengals in OT 30-24

The Denver Broncos fell to the Cincinnati Bengals 30-24 in overtime. Below is the recap and postgame interviews:

Broncos won the coin toss and elected to receive the kickoff.

Bo Nix and the offense started with the ball at their own 30 yard line. Jaleel McLaughlin gained 12 yards on his first carry and it set the tone for the drive as the Broncos offense marched down the field quickly into Bengals territory. On 3rd and 5, Bo Nix fired a laser into Devaughn Vele for 16 yards down to the Cincinnati 20 yard line. The drive unfortunately stalled and they settled for a 30 yard field goal from Wil Lutz to take an early 3-0 lead with 9:45 remaining in the 1st quarter.

Joe Burrow and the Bengals offense went to work for the first time starting from their 30 yard line. Joe Burrow connected with a pair of his TEs to move the ball into Denver territory. Burrow found Chase for a 1st down on 3rd and 7 and were quickly into field goal range. Cincinnati's offense worked all the way down to the Denver 22 yard line and on 4th and 1, Nik Bonitto fired through and stopped Chase Brown for no gain! Broncos get the ball back with 4:23 remaining in the 1st quarter.

Starting from their own 22 yard line, the offense got a quick first down on the ground with McLaughlin and Estime. A false start by Quinn Meinerz put the ball behind the sticks and the offense couldn't recover as they punted a couple of plays later. Bengals offense went back to work from their own 27 with 32 seconds remaining in the 1st quarter.

Mike Gesicki went airborne over Riley Moss to get the initial first down of the drive to the Bengals 39 yard line. Gesicki assists in the next 1st down on 3rd and 1 as the Bengals moved into Denver territory. On 3rd and 7, Burrow found Tee Higgins down the left sideline for a huge 15 yard gain as the Bengals worked into the Red Zone. A DPI against Riley Moss in the End Zone gave the Bengals 1st and goal from the 1 yard line. After a DJ Jones TFL and a couple of incompletions, Joe Burrow was sacked by Jonathon Cooper on 4th and goal from the 2 yard line and the Broncos offense got the ball back at their own 5 yard line. Unfortunately, the offense went 3 and out quickly and sent it right back to Cincinnati with 4:55 remaining in the 1st half.

Joe Burrow and the offense went back to work from their own 38 yard line looking for their first points of the game before halftime. The Bengals offense, once again, worked into Denver territory and eventually field goal range in the Red Zone with an 8 yard catch by Tee Higgins. Ja'Marr Chase caught a fade route down to the Denver 6 yard line and Cincinnati was in business at the 2 minute warning. Two plays later, Burrow hit Tee Higgins on a 2 yard slant for their first lead of the game. Bengals 7-3 with 1:49 remaining in the 1st half.

The Broncos offense went back to work trying to get some points before halftime. Denver's offense moved into Cincinnati territory but Bo Nix took back to back sacks and the offense stalled out at midfield. That ended the half.

Bengals started with the ball out of halftime and worked quickly into Denver territory on a 26 yard completion to Iosivas. Burrow stayed sharp moving the ball inside the 10 yard line. A brutal Illegal Contact penalty against Ja'Quan McMillian negated a Zach Allen sack on 3rd down and the drive continued. The defense was able to keep Cincinnati out of the end zone and the Bengals had to settle for a 22 yard field goal, extending the lead 10-3 with 9:07 remaining in the 3rd quarter.

So, Denver's offense somehow still in this game though the Bengals had been dominating time of possession, started their first drive of the 2nd half from their 30 yard line. Jaleel McLaughlin was absolute monster on the drive ripping off 3 11+ yard runs getting the Broncos all the way inside the 10 yard line. From the 6 yard line, Bo Nix threw a fade route to Courtland Sutton on the right side to tie the game at 10 with 3:04 remaining in the 3rd quarter.

Bengals offense back out on the field from their 37 yard line and quickly got to midfield with a completion to Mike Gesicki. Jonathon Cooper and Zach Allen sacked Joe Burrow to put the Bengals behind the sticks. An illegal shift penalty wiped out a 50 yard touchdown but on 3rd and 13, Joe Burrow scrambled for 19 yards and a 1st down. That back breaker would get Cincinnati into Denver territory and a few plays later, Joe Burrow found Tee Higgins for his 2nd touchdown of the day and they went back in front 17-10 with 11:33 remaining in the game.

Back in a 7 point hole, the Broncos offense went back out on to the field and immediately got a 1st down on the ground with McLaughlin and Estime. Sutton got a 13 yard reception and the Broncos were at midfield. On 1st and 10 from the Denver 49 yard line, Bo Nix fired a deep pass down the middle to Marvin Mims for a 51 yard touchdown to tie the game at 17!

On the next drive, Tee Higgins caught a pass over the middle and fumbled it. Pat Surtain came up with the ball with 5:13 remaining in the game. Bo Nix scrambled for the initial 1st down but on 3rd and 15 from midfield, Germaine Pratt jumped in front of his pass and the Bengals came up with their first turnover of the game.

On the very next play, Burrow hit Ja'Marr Chase for a 38 yard reception and a couple plays later, Joe did a QB sneak from the 1 yard line and the Bengals retook the lead 24-17 with 1:29 remaining in the game.

Bo Nix and the offense needed a touchdown and they marched right down the field with big completions to Courtland Sutton and on 4th and 1, Bo hit Marvin Mims in the end zone for a 25 yard touchdown to send the game to overtime!!

Bengals won the toss and started their overtime drive from their own 26 yard line. Cincinnati was quickly to midfield on a throw to Gesicki but Zach Allen got back-to-back sacks and the Broncos defense forced a punt.

Starting from their own 10 yard line, the offense couldn't get an initial first down and had to punt it back to Cincinnati who started their drive from their 46 yard line. Burrow and Gesicki hooked up again and the ball was into field goal range. Burrow hit Higgins for a 20 yard gain and the Bengals were now officially in field goal range. Cade York's 33 yard field goal hit the upright and was NO GOOD!

The Broncos offense went 3 and out and the Bengals would get the ball back at their 37 yard line with 2:20 remaining in OT. Burrow connected with Iosivas to get the ball into Denver territory at the 2 minute warning. Bengals then got a 13 yard run by Herbert and now they were back in FG range. Burrow hit Higgins down the left sideline for a 31 yard gain and on the next play, Higgins scored from 3 yards out and the Bengals won 30-24.

The next broadcast will be either on Saturday or Sunday next week as the Broncos host the Kansas City Chiefs.

Below is the postgame interview with Sean Payton