The Denver Broncos take on the Cincinnati Bengals on Monday Night Football at 8:30 PM ET, at the Paul Brown Stadium, Cincinnati Ohio.
For Denver, wins on Monday Night football over Cincinnati and in Week 17 plus a New England loss to Buffalo would give the Broncos the No. 1 seed in the AFC. On the other hand, a win for the Bengals would allow them to clinch their fourth playoff berth.
Coming of a mighty 30-0 victory of Cleveland last week, the Bengals will try to put their defense on a test against the offense of Denver Broncos. The defense shutdown rookie Johnny Manziel and forced him into two interceptions and just 80 passing yards.
Demariyius Thomas caught six passes for 123 yards and a touchdown against the defense of San Diego. Emmanuel Sanders added 53 yards in three receptions.
Offensively, Denver averages 289.4 in passing (4th in the NFL) and 111.3 in rushing. Defensively, Denver yields 237.8 in passing and 71.6 in rushing (2nd in the NFL).
Monday Night Football tv channel schedule between the Broncos and the Bengals is on ESPN. Monday Night Football kick off time is at 8:30 PM ET. Monday Night Football scores and highlights will be posted here after the game.
Jeremy Hill rushed for 148 yards and two touchdowns to help the Bengals in a lopsided win. Giovani Bernard added 79 yards in 15 attempts to compliment the ground game of Hill.
While quarterback Andy Dalton completed 14 of 24 passes for 117 yards, most of the offense was played through the Bengals running backs.
“It’s going to be a big shift, safe to say,” coach Marvin Lewis said of facing Manning. “It’s a challenge. He gets everyone’s attention in this building right away. The player he is, how he carries himself, how he runs things on the field - it’s going to be a great challenge for us. It’s what it’s supposed to be in December, just like this.”
Offensively, Cincinnati averages 218.1 in passing and 130.3 in rushing. Defensively, Cincinnati yields 233.6 in passing and 124.8 in rushing.
Peyton Manning is 8-0 against the Bengals in his career, including his tenure with Indianapolis. The most recent win Manning had been in November 2014 when he completed 27 of 35 passes for 291 yards and three touchdowns.
Manning completed 14 of 20 passes for 233 yards and one touchdown in a 22-10 win over San Diego last week. He managed the game with poise and he looked for running back CJ Anderson who rushed for 85 yards in 29 attempts.
Who will win this game?