The Denver Broncos are locked in several playoff battles. The biggest is tonight as a victory over the Cincinnati Bengals will secure the inside track for a first round bye for the Broncos. The other battle is with the Kansas City Chiefs who now sit a half game back from the Broncos in the chase for the AFC West. The Chiefs own the tiebreakers, so winning out is a must for the Broncos over these last two games.
Game time
Monday Night Football is set to kickoff at Sports Authority Field on for Monday, December 28th at 6:30 Mile High time (that's 8:30 p.m. local Eastern time).
TV schedule and TV channels
The game will air nationally on prime time on ESPN, so if you are in the orange and have ESPN, you're getting the Broncos game this weekend in your area.
If you're in #BRONCOSCOUNTRY, you're getting #CINvsDEN on ESPN Monday. #Broncos #Bengals https://t.co/YoXMkm4LCt pic.twitter.com/55J4eYUD0f
— MileHighReport (@MileHighReport) December 26, 2015
Mike Tirico (play-by-play), Jon Gruden (color analyst) and Lisa Salters (sideline) will call the game.
Must Reads
Online streaming
NFL Game Pass offers live audio and re-airs after the game.
DirecTV's NFL Sunday Ticket has expanded its online streaming service. Verizon subscribers can watch games live with the NFL Mobile app (subscription required, and usual TV blackout rules apply even online).
For more information about streaming Broncos games, check out our comprehensive online streaming guide.
Radio
Colorado can listen on KOA (850 AM) or The Fox (133.5 FM) with Dave Logan (play-by-play), Ed McCaffrey (color analyst) and Andy Lindahl (sideline reporting).
Injury Report
The Broncos are getting healthier with T.J. Ward and Darian Stewart both returning the lineup. In fact, only Peyton Manning and Omar Bolden are confirmed out for this game. On the Bengals side of things, they are short Andy Dalton and Tyler Eifert and that will definitely hurt their top ranked passing attack.
Quotable
"First off, they've been together a long time—a group of guys that it seems like I've played against this group a bunch and it's been over the last five or six years—same players, same coaches," Broncos head coach Gary Kubiak sais on the strength of the Bengals defense, "You can see that. Not very complicated, but very good. Most of the really good defenses in this business don't do a lot. What they do, they do well. Up front, they can control the football game without coming to get you, so that's a big challenge for our young guys up front."
Odds
The Broncos are 3.5-point home favorites to the Dalton-less Bengals, according to the latest NFL odds.
Predictions
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