Confidence is being restored in the Denver Broncos after two impressive wins over serious playoff contenders. In our FanPulse survey this week, fans are looking for a touchdown win for Denver over the Cincinnati Bengals.
A lot of us here at Mile High Report are seeing a much closer affair as the Broncos always find a way to grind their way to close wins or close losses, but a few of us think this will be Denver’s breakout curb stomping road win. Collectively, we see a Broncos 27-19 win over the Bengals on the road.
Individually, we see things a lot differently score-wise, but universally agree on a win for the good guys on Sunday.
Broncos 20, Bengals 17
This should be a big win for the Broncos, but I just don’t trust them to win like they should. They’ll leave points out there and leave us all feeling a bit deflated on the excitement side of things. That’s okay, though, because I’m starting to think they will grind these kinds of wins out week after week right into Week 17 with the playoffs on the line. I can live with that. - Tim Lynch
Broncos 30, Bengals 16
The Bengals defense is terrible. Their offense will feature Jeff Driskel, A.J. Green who’s just now returned after missing a month with an injury, Tyler Boyd, & Joe Mixon. The Broncos, if they’re even halfway decently coached this week, should roll over the Bengals. I’m not talking Star Wars numbers here- that’s generally not a good bet with Case Keenum at QB. But that’s okay. A simply efficient offensive effort should be more than enough, and the defense should be able to scheme Driskel into confusion & some mistakes due to inexperience. - Taylor Kothe
Broncos 23, Bengals 21
The Bengals are a bad, bad team but the Broncos have consistantly struggled with early games on the East Coast. Let’s not forget what happened against a terrible Jets team earlier this season. If the Broncos stay mistake free, they win easily but it’s not likely that Keenum can go four straight games without a turnover. In the end, Case has to lead another 4th quarter comeback and the Broncos barely pull out a win. - Kevin Gillikin
Broncos 24, Bengals 23
Everything, and I do mean EVERYTHING is trending the Broncos way for this game on paper. They’ll face a backup QB that Elway flew into Dove Valley to workout, so we’re familiar with Driskel already. A.J. Green is limited even though he’ll play. Two of their tackles are either on injured reserve or not even practicing yet. Their other offensive weapons not named Joe Mixon are dinged up, and their defense is a sieve. Remember now, that’s “on paper”, but these games need to actually be played (right New Orleans?). The reality of this game is that it has all the traps of the Jets game, in which I believe I was the only one predicting a loss. The Broncos a) travel to the east coast, b ) play the early game, c) travel Saturday which tires players out for Sunday as they can’t settle in and adjust, and d) Vance Joseph is currently 0-6 I believe in these early games.
What I’m saying is that on paper the Broncos should win by double digits while in reality and following trends, the Broncos will lose by an average margin of I believe 18 points. The only hope I’m banking on is that our current coaching staff has finally started figuring things out and started coaching to the player’s strengths and that continuity is really starting to show itself (which is why for the last few weeks I’ve said that maybe keeping VJ beyond this year is a good thing). My heart says we should win easily. My head is split between the victory on paper and the loss we are looking at if reality continues its ugly trend. Ultimately I think the Broncos squeak out a the narrowest of narrow victories on the road, notching VJ’s first ever early game victory in his head coaching career. - Pete Baron
Broncos 27, Bengals 23
This season has been quite a roller coaster for me. Who is this team? What are they capable of? Ask me in the preseason and I honestly think we’re fighting for the AFC West crown by the end of the season or comfortably in the wild card race. Ask me 3 weeks ago and we’re headed for maybe 5-6 wins tops. Is there anything we can be sure of with this year’s Denver Broncos? They _should_ handle this game and win by 10+ against a team that is inferior in talent, coaching, and scheming. That’s the same thing I thought when the Broncos played the Jets earlier this year. That game says we should lose by multiple scores in another early game let down. What I do know is that every game this year, the players have been pouring their hearts out on the field to win games. We may not have great coaching, the best talent, or the fanciest schemes in the NFL. But you aren’t going to outwork this Denver Bronco team. I think that effort and fortitude will be enough to get the team another W this week. - Sadaraine
Broncos 27, Bengals 17
While we should all be excited about the direction the Broncos have been headed in the last couple weeks, the game against the Bengals feels like a trap game. Playing a team that just lost its starting quarterback for the season should be a huge boon, but if Denver loses focus, this could be the end of the season just as it was getting fun. Throw on top of the trap game feel the fact that it will be an early game, east of the Mississippi, and you have a recipe for potential disaster. With all the doom and gloom out of the way, however, I think the Broncos have found their winning spirit. Jeff Driskell being the Bengals starting quarterback helps, and they have issues on the offensive line that could lead to several mistakes and turnovers. I expect Von Miller to become much more visible in this game compared to his performance against Pittsburgh, and the offense will find the end zone a few times. The Broncos will win this game 27-17. - Adam Malnati
Broncos 34, Bengals 13
There’s a risk in thinking Joseph and his team have turned the corner. Just think of the Jets games for a refresher. But Denver seems to have that belief and confidence in itself that carries teams on runs. That no matter what happens on the field over the course of a game, good or bad, the Broncos will overcome it and win. - Ian St. Clair