DENVER — The Bengals opened "Monday Night Football" with a pair of third-down conversions.
On Cincinnati's first possession, Jake Browning and Co. moved the ball 62 yards in 12 plays and converted both a third-and-1 and third-and-6.
Evan McPherson drilled a short field goal to give Cincinnati a 3-0 lead at Empower Field at Mile High.
And then that was it.
Over the next 54 minutes and eight seconds, Denver's defense — when it was on the field — was dominant.
The Bengals, after accruing 62 yards on that possession, recorded just 97 more yards over their final nine possessions. Browning, in relief of Joe Burrow, completed just 10 more passes for 82 more yards and was sacked three times. Running back Chase Brown added 28 yards, and star receivers Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins combined for 30 yards across the remainder of the game.
After those initial moments, the Broncos came up with stops on the Bengals' final nine third downs and forced eight punts. Across the remaining eight possessions, Cincinnati managed just five first downs and suffered four three-and-outs.
"I know Joe was out, but we always pride ourselves to make sure that we eliminate [explosive plays] and make it harder on the opposing offense, and that's what we did tonight," reigning Defensive Player of the Year Pat Surtain II said. "That's the standard that we've got to keep holding ourselves to in order to win those big-time games like that."
Perhaps the most impressive statistic on a night full of them: Denver allowed Cincinnati to take just one snap in Broncos territory after the initial field-goal drive. And that snap didn't even officially count in the game book, as the Bengals were whistled for holding.
"When we get in a rhythm like that, that's how we expect to play," inside linebacker Alex Singleton said. "Just to continue to do that was huge. We're just getting three-and-outs, three-and-outs. It feels really good. Then the offense plays the way they did [and] it's really nice, because we can really get going on the sideline and just keep playing that way."
Head Coach Sean Payton credited the Broncos' pass rush for its success as Denver took control of the game and made the Bengals one-dimensional, and outside linebacker Nik Bonitto again posted a multi-sack night. Bonitto's 4.5 sacks are the most in the first four weeks of a season by a Broncos defender since Von Miller posted the same total in 2021, and Jonathon Cooper and John Franklin-Myers also combined to take down Browning.
"I thought I had a great get-off, and I thought I was going to get him, then I see Ol' Coop coming from the other side faster than me," Bonitto said of his first quarterback takedown. "… We ended up sharing that one, so that was pretty cool."
While the Broncos' pass rush got after Browning, Denver's secondary ensured he had nowhere to go with the ball. Cornerback Riley Moss battled despite being targeted early, and Surtain continued to show why he's among the league's elite. In 10 man coverage snaps, Surtain didn't allow last year's receiving triple crown winner to record a single reception. On the 54 career routes in which he's faced Chase, Surtain has given up just four catches for 35 yards.
"He's the DPOY for a reason," Bonitto said. "I'm happy to have that guy. He makes our jobs a lot easier up front."
Chase wasn't the only Bengals threat who was limited, as Denver held Cincinnati to just one play of at least 20 yards. That 22-yarder came in the third quarter and the Broncos quickly forced a punt to end the drive. In all, the Bengals recorded just five plays of 10-plus yards. Denver's offense, meanwhile, recorded five plays of 20-plus yards and 21 plays of at least 10 yards.
"It is impressive," quarterback Bo Nix said of Denver's defense. "There is not much more to say other than they are just suffocating. They take away what they are good at, and the pass rush is killer. When you get in long yardage situations, it is tough. They did a good job of staying balanced and mixing up the looks, and getting off the field when they needed to. Other than that first drive really, they had a hard time. I'm excited and happy to be on a team with a good defense like that."
And for a Denver defense that suffered a pair of difficult losses in the last two weeks, Monday's result felt closer to how the unit knows it can perform.
"We were due for one," Bonitto said. "… These two games were easily winnable for us. We felt like we let it by, and we let them have it. It was good to bounce back tonight in front of the home crowd."
