After a potentially season-ending toe injury to quarterback Joe Burrow overshadowed their 2-0 start, the Cincinnati Bengals looked like a bad football team last Sunday. Can Jake Browning bounce back against a tough road opponent in Denver?
It'll be an uphill battle for Zac Taylor's team. Much of the outcome in the Mile High City will boil down to how Taylor gets the troops to respond from Week 3's 48-10 debacle against the Vikings.
Here's what to expect against the Broncos on Monday Night Football. Spoiler alert: These bold predictions aren't very good-guy friendly.
Ja'Marr Chase, Tee Higgins both held below 50 receiving yards
In January, these teams met in another prime-time showdown. With their season on the line in Week 17, the Bengals’ star receiver duo went off under the Paycor Stadium lights. Tee Higgins led the way with 11 receptions, 131 yards, and three touchdowns — including a walk-off game-winner in overtime — while Ja’Marr Chase nearly matched him with 9 receptions for 102 yards. But that was with Joe Burrow throwing them the ball, not Jake Browning.
Patrick Surtain II is one of the few NFL players who can be trusted to cover either Bengals receiver on an island. Without Burrow’s pinpoint accuracy fitting the ball into tight windows, Denver’s secondary will have a much easier time keeping Zac Taylor’s passing game in check.
Since Chase Brown and the run game haven’t shown much promise yet, expect Broncos’ coach Vance Joseph to keep extra defenders in the secondary, holding both star receivers under 50 yards and without a touchdown.
Bo Nix bounces back, torching Al Golden's defense with three passing touchdowns
Three games into the season, doubts are mounting about Broncos quarterback Bo Nix. His overall PFF rating is a dismal 44.6 — the worst in the NFL through Week 3. Facing a shaky Bengals defense, however, gives the second-year signal caller a prime chance to tap into the potential he showed as a rookie.
Despite the rough start, Nix isn’t a bad quarterback. As a rookie, he completed 66.3% of his passes for 3,775 yards and 29 touchdowns. He might have been Rookie of the Year if not for Jayden Daniels’ standout performance.
The Bengals’ defense hasn’t looked terrible this season. Even the embarrassing loss to the Vikings was largely due to offensive turnovers. Still, it feels like a 2024-style collapse is looming. Nix capitalizes, targeting cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt and safety Geno Stone for three touchdowns.
Bengals struggle again, lose to Broncos by 14+ points
The vibes in Cincinnati are grim. After their worst loss in franchise history, Joe Burrow’s latest Instagram post didn’t inspire much confidence about his potential December return. Some fans have started looking ahead to the draft or calling for a coaching change. Are even the players losing faith?
If there’s one thing to say about Zac Taylor’s Bengals, it’s that they’re resilient. Despite numerous challenges, they’ve posted winning records in each of the past four seasons. But ultimately, with Jake Browning at quarterback, they don’t match up well against the Broncos.
That resilience means the Bengals won’t give up after two bad losses. In their 2021 Super Bowl run, they dropped back-to-back games — a fourth quarter loss to a 2-5 New York Jets team, followed by a humiliating 41-16 defeat to the Baker Mayfield-era Browns — before making their deep playoff run.
Next, it’s on to the Detroit Lions. In the meantime, go Reds?
Final score: Broncos 28, Bengals 13