Mile High Report
It feels good to open this up and start writing after a victory, rather than after a heartbreaking last-second loss in a game they should have won.
The Broncos dominated this game from start to finish on both sides of the ball and came away with a convincing 28-3 victory over the Bengals. Now, it wasn’t error-free, and we’ll touch on some of those in this, but there is plenty of positive to write about, thankfully. So, with all that said, here are your winners and losers from the Broncos’ victory over the Bengals.
Bo Nix bounced back in a big way tonight and had 326 yards passing and 3 total touchdowns. However, his night could have been even better if he had not thrown an end zone interception, and Troy Franklin could have hauled in two passes from the second-year quarterback.
After receiving some criticism for his performance last week vs. the Chargers, Nix looked poised, was accurate, and led the Broncos’ offense up and down the field vs. this Bengals defense. This isn’t the best defense in the league, but he took care of business against a team they should have beaten and silenced some critics for at least this week.
This was a great night for the Broncos’ backfield. Veteran J.K. Dobbins topped 100 yards on the ground, while rookie R.J. Harvey had 98 total yards from scrimmage, along with getting his first career NFL touchdown. This is exactly what Sean Payton envisioned from these two, and they put it all together tonight vs. the Bengals.
Dobbins looked patient, explosive, and averaged 6.3 yards per carry on the ground tonight. The Bengals couldn’t stop him, and it was a performance we haven’t seen in quite a while from a Broncos running back. This 100-yard performance was the first from a Broncos running back during the Sean Payton era. Meanwhile, Harvey had a strong showing as well. He had 58 yards rushing while adding 40 yards receiving and catching his first career touchdown pass.
Hopefully, we see more performances like this from these Broncos backs moving forward. The offense is at its best when it can run the ball.
Courtland Sutton is as reliable as they come. You need a first down? He’ll get you that. You need a big play? He can do that. You need a touchdown? He can do that too.
Nix targeted Sutton early and often in this game, and he delivered on multiple third downs, including an impressive touchdown catch before halftime. He finished the game with 5 receptions for 81 yards and 1 touchdown reception.
Since Sean Payton has taken over this team, Sutton has totaled 21 touchdown receptions and has 3 of them through the Broncos’ first 4 games this season. Could he be on the verge of a career year for the Broncos?
