The Broncos are in for a battle on the road this Saturday in Cincinnati. Here are the MHR keys to getting the victory.
The Denver Broncos had their first crack at earning a playoff bid and failed miserably.
Now comes the all-important redo, and the challenge doesn’t become any easier. This time it’s on the road against a dangerous Joe Burrow and Cincinnati Bengals squad that has a chance, albeit minuscule, to keep their playoff hopes alive.
The Broncos (9-6) control their spot in the AFC Playoffs. Win on Saturday, and they’re in.
If Denver loses to the Bengals (7-8) this week, oh boy.
Burrow and Cincinnati’s offense will be a serious challenge for a Broncos defense that just got torched by Justin Herbert and the Los Angeles Chargers. The “good” news is the Bengals have a defense that Bo Nix and the Broncos should be able to move the ball and score points against.
Offensive Rankings
Denver: Twenty-second in total offense (314.0 yards per game), 19th in rushing offense (108.5 YPG), 22nd in passing offense (205.5 YPG), 10th in scoring (24.2 points per game).
Cincinnati: Tenth in total offense (360.1 yards per game), 29th in rushing offense (92.7 YPG), first in passing offense (267.3 YPG), sixth in scoring (28.2 points per game).
Defensive Rankings
Denver: Ninth in total defense (319.6 yards per game), fifth in rushing defense (99.8 YPG), 18th in passing defense (219.8 YPG), fourth in scoring (18.7 points per game).
Cincinnati: Twenty-eighth in total defense (359.9 yards per game), 21st in rushing defense (128.3 YPG), 26th in passing defense (231.6 YPG), 28th in scoring (26.2 points per game).
Here are the MHR staff’s keys to Saturday’s game.
Play a complete game
Prior to Week 16, the Broncos had a tendency to start slow and finish strong. Then Denver flipped the script and started fast, only to finish with a whimper. The Broncos must play a complete game on Saturday in all three phases. Denver has accomplished this on the road a few times this season, so the team knows how to do it. If the Broncos play the way they did against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this week in Cinci, they have a great chance to get the victory. — Ian St. Clair
Be aggressive
The Bengals offense is for real. The Bengals defense is hot garbage. The Broncos can’t plan to win this one 20-10. So, don’t sit back on defense and hope to bend but not break. Get in their face and put some pressure on them. Get back to the aggressive defense, which was arguably the best in football through 13 weeks. And on offense, score touchdowns, not field goals. Push the issue (but stop short of reckless). And use the running game to set up play action to take legitimate shots downfield. Play to win … not to avoid losing. — Jonathan Rice
Give the mother-effing ball to Audric Estimé
Seriously, there are several reasons the Broncos lost to the Chargers, but going away from the run game and Estimé is the thing that sticks out to me. Now, with a high powered Bengals offense potentially putting up an insane amount of points, controlling the clock and establishing the run is huge. Feed the hot hand, but Estimé needs to be more involved. — Adam Malnati
Give the mother-effing ball to Audric Estimé II
I want to back up what Adam said. Feed Estimé and run more of a gap-scheme offense with him at the helm. The Broncos were dominating the Chargers when they were running Power and Trap. Against LA, Estime carried the ball nine times, and five of those rushes were Power (3) or Inside Trap (2). The least amount of yards gained on any of those plays was 3 when Estime went untouched into the end zone for a touchdown. Run the ball early. Have Estimé in on EVERY first down. Don’t get away from the run game, either. Stay consistent. — Ross Allen
Play disciplined
Earlier this week I talked about some issues I had with Sean Payton’s coaching in their loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. He can do better, but the players need to execute and stop the self-inflicted wounds that have plagued them in throughout the season. Offensively, the Broncos can’t afford to endure lost drives because penalties stall them or put them out of scoring range. They also can’t turn the ball over. The Bengals’ offense is no joke, and if the game winds up a track meet, every drive and point is going to matter. — Christopher Hart
Take care of the football
I’d like to see a stronger commitment to the running game than what we saw in the second half last week from Sean Payton, but I also would like to see Bo Nix take care of the football. His footwork has been getting sloppier over the last couple of weeks, so I’d like to see him settle down and play call like he was a month ago. A win on Saturday would put to rest all of the anxiety we’re experiencing now in Broncos Country. Let’s end this drought. — Tim Lynch