Denver Broncos: Rookies come up huge in team’s win over Bengals

CINCINNATI, OH - DECEMBER 2: Justin Simmons #31 of the Denver Broncos celebrates with his teammates after intercepting a pass during the third quarter of the game against the Cincinnati Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium on December 2, 2018 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
CINCINNATI, OH - DECEMBER 2: Justin Simmons #31 of the Denver Broncos celebrates with his teammates after intercepting a pass during the third quarter of the game against the Cincinnati Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium on December 2, 2018 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
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CINCINNATI, OH – DECEMBER 2: Justin Simmons #31 of the Denver Broncos celebrates with his teammates after intercepting a pass during the third quarter of the game against the Cincinnati Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium on December 2, 2018 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
CINCINNATI, OH – DECEMBER 2: Justin Simmons #31 of the Denver Broncos celebrates with his teammates after intercepting a pass during the third quarter of the game against the Cincinnati Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium on December 2, 2018 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

The Denver Broncos won their third straight game behind the strength of their stellar 2018 rookie class and running back Phillip Lindsay.

The Denver Broncos’ extremely fun second half of the 2018 season continued on Sunday with a solid victory over the now 5-7 Cincinnati Bengals.

The Bengals’ 2018 season has gone almost in the polar opposite direction as the Broncos from the start until their head-to-head meeting today, as they started off pretty hot and looking like a potential playoff team to really struggling with injuries and falling off the face of the earth over the last month.

The Broncos, on the other hand, are now firmly in the postseason conversation at 6-6 with three straight wins and the best performance of the season by rookie running back Phillip Lindsay.

Denver set out in this game to exploit the Bengals’ 32nd ranked defense and a young quarterback in Jeff Driskel while also limiting turnovers, and they checked every box.

The offense was held to just seven points in the first half, but the Denver defense was stout all throughout this game, especially in the pass rush department, and held the Bengals to just three first-half points.

The Broncos put up 17 second-half points and a great day overall from their running backs.

With 218 yards rushing (6.4 yards per rush) the Broncos’ offensive line continued to prove itself as a viable combination of five guys, which they’ve done consistently over the past few weeks, and Royce Freeman — aside from a fumble — looked a lot healthier than he has in recent weeks.

Once again, the Broncos won the turnover battle and as has been the case, this team is borderline unbeatable when they don’t turn it over. The defense is simply too good and has too many guys who can make plays in the pass rush department for teams to try and consistently beat the Broncos from behind.

Let’s take a look at how the young players really stepped up in this game for the Broncos and helped get them their sixth win this season.

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