The Denver Broncos beating the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 17 clinches them their first playoff spot since 2015. Here are three ways they can earn the victory. On paper, the Broncos actually match up well with the Bengals. They have the secondary play to stop the Bengals from doing too much damage through the air, and the Broncos' defensive line is about to go up against a below-average Bengals' OL.
Offensively, the Bengals' defense gives up a ton of yards and points, and the Bengals have not won a game this year against a team with a winning record. The Bengals seem to be a glass cannon, if you will. And there are multiple ways for the Broncos to beat the Bengals. Let's cover three of them.
3 ways the Denver Broncos can beat the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 17
Limit Cincinnati on the ground
The Cincinnati Bengals have gained the third-fewest rushing yards this year with 1,391. They average 4.2 yards per carry and have scored 10 touchdowns on the ground, which is the 4th-least in the NFL. This team is not good running the football, so if they are able to establish the run, life is going to be nearly impossible for the Denver Broncos on defense.
The Bengals have also gained just 77 first downs this year by running the football, which is the third-lowest mark in the NFL.
It is imperative that this team makes the Bengals non-existent on the ground. My fear is that Vance Joseph has a gameplan aggressively angled to stop the pass that the Bengals are instead able to hurt them greatly on the ground. Their starting running back is Chase Brown, who is averaging 61.5 yards per game this year on the ground.
Play keep-away with long scoring drives
We all know that the Cincinnati Bengals are dangerous through the air with Joe Burrow, Ja'Marr Chase, and Tee Higgins, who is questionable for this game with knee and ankle injuries. Burrow does not turn the ball over a lot and has thrown 39 touchdowns, which is the most in the NFL.
Denver isn't going to take the ball away from the Bengals a lot with turnovers, so a great way to keep the ball out of their hands is to have some extended scoring drives. It is a must that the Broncos establish the run with Audric Estime, Jaleel McLaughlin, and Javonte Williams. All three have shown the ability to be effective at times, but Denver has rarely had a consistent rushing attack for an entire game.
With the weather not expected to be all that great, the Broncos have a great chance in front of them to run the rock and use a ton of play-action. Eating up a ton of time off the clock with extended scoring drives is how to limit this offense.
Get to Joe Burrow quickly
Joe Burrow has fumbled the ball five times over his last four games and has been sacked 37 times in 15 games this year. This offense is not perfect, and Burrow has his flaws as a QB. With how much the Bengals throw the ball, some of their route concepts do take some time to develop, so that forces the Bengals' offensive line to block longer and also forces Burrow to hold onto the ball at times.
If Denver's pass rush is able to get some like they've been doing all year, this could be a long day at the office. According to ESPN's numbers, the Bengals' rank just 30th in the NFL in pass block win rate at 51%. This is not a good offensive line in either pass blocking or run blocking, so with how deadly the Broncos' pass rush has been, sacking Joe Burrow might not be all that hard.
Getting to Joe Burrow and getting him on the ground is another way the Broncos win this game.