As if the pressure to capture an AFC Wildcard spot wasn’t already stacking up for the 9-6 Denver Broncos after losing to the 9-6 Los Angeles Chargers 34-27, Sunday’s Week 16 results added even more to overcome. The Broncos' Week 17 opponent — the 7-8 Cincinnati Bengals — continued their three-game winning streak with a 24-6 home-field win over their AFC North divisional rival Cleveland Browns.
When the Broncos face the Bengals on Saturday at Paycor Stadium, they’ll be in one of two AFC games with playoff implications of the day, as the Chargers travel to Foxboro for a tilt vs the 3-11 New England Patriots. A victory against the Bengals would give the Broncos their first playoff berth since 2015, whereas Cincinnati needs to win out, along with Denver losing out to have a shot at the postseason.
Needless to say, the playoff atmosphere in Cincinnati will be rocking and rolling on Saturday afternoon, with massive postseason implications hanging in the balance. So, what did we learn from the Bengals' dominant win against a Browns team that set franchise records when hosted by the Broncos in Week 12?
Let’s review a couple of cautionary warnings from what could be a dangerous Bengals team next weekend.
Burrow Can Steal the Broncos’ Christmas
Don’t look now, but Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow appears to be peaking at the right time amid a longshot Cincinnati playoff run. The 28-year-old former Heisman Trophy winner and Pro Bowler is playing arguably the best football of his career this season, throwing for 1,201 yards and 12 touchdowns in the month of December, with four interceptions.
Against the Browns on Sunday, Burrow boasted a 134.3 passer rating, going 22-of-30 for 252 passing yards and three touchdowns. He also rushed twice for 19 yards with a long of 16 in the Bengals' sweep of the Browns this season. ‘Joe-Cool’ did have to shake off four Browns sacks, though you wouldn’t know it based on the gritty and unrattled play of the NFL's 2021 Comeback Player of the Year.
Burrow, who was the No.1 overall pick by Cincinnati in 2020, found his former LSU teammate and the Bengals' receiving leader Ja’Marr Chase, six times for 97 yards and a touchdown in the team’s seventh win of the season. Moreso, the Bengals offense shared the wealth as receivers Tee Higgins and Andrew Iosivas each recorded a score and over 50 yards receiving against Cleveland.
With the odds stacked against them next Saturday, Burrow will look to lead a hungry and dangerous Bengals offense that’ll look to pounce on a rebounding Denver defense. On Sunday’s phone conference, Broncos head coach Sean Payton said that the team will “hopefully” get No. 2 cornerback Riley Moss back into the starting lineup opposite Patrick Surtain II.
Defensive coordinator Vance Joseph has been without Moss since he went down with a knee injury in Week 12’s win against the Las Vegas Raiders. Denver’s secondary is in desperate need of Moss' return.
NFL Sack Leader on Deck
Bengals eighth-year defensive end Trey Hendrickson has been a one-man wrecking crew this season as the NFL’s sack leader. On Sunday, the 6-foot-4, 270-pound former New Orleans Saints third-rounder (under Payton from 2017-2020) logged a sack and three tackles against the Browns, increasing his total sack total to 13.5 on the season. Hendrickson has recorded at least 0.5 sacks in eight of 14 games played this season.
In his fourth season with the Bengals, Hendrickson is their only defender with double-digit sacks this year. He also leads a beleaguered Bengals defense that allows upwards of 26 points per game with 14 tackles for a loss and five pass deflections — the highest amount among defensive linemen.
Hendrickson will undoubtedly demand the full attention and paranoia of the Broncos' offensive line in film study and at practice this week. Rookie quarterback Bo Nix has been sacked 22 times this season in 15 games, including twice in last Thursday’s primetime loss to the Chargers.
Denver’s O-line has recorded five total games this season without allowing a sack, but has allowed 11 sacks in its last seven games. Meanwhile, Hendrickson has amassed nearly 30 QB hits this season in addition to being the league’s sack leader and remains a dark horse candidate for Defensive Player of the Year, with similar odds as Broncos outside linebacker Nik Bonitto.
The Takeaway
If the Broncos stand any chance of winning on Saturday against the Bengals, they’ll need to extinguish this red-hot pass rusher’s ability to wreck this game and figure out how to limit Burrow. If not, Denver could be looking at a nightmare beyond Christmas.
