Review of the second quarter of the Denver Broncos and Cincinnati Bengals

The Cincinnati Bengals began their drive at the end of the first quarter and began the second quarter with a first and 10. They got another first down at midfield as Joe Burrow focused on shutting down the Denver Broncos defense with the short, quick passing game hit .

A Zach Allen sack was quickly negated by a quick cross from Ja’Marr Chase to JaQuan McMillian that narrowly missed the first down, but a hands-to-the-face penalty gave them an automatic five-yarder to tie it to keep the drive going. However, two plays later, Burrow and the Bengals faced a third-and-seven play where he found Tee Higgins wide open and Riley Moss in coverage to put Cincinnati within field goal range.

Denver’s defense simply couldn’t find a way to stop the quick passes to tight ends. Burrow would pick them apart, picking on Riley Moss the most, who was called for pass interference at the goal line to give Cincinnati one. Denver’s defense came up with two big plays, and then Chase dropped a would-be touchdown reception. The Bengals tried anyway and Burrow was sacked by Jonathon Cooper with another huge fourth down stop.

Inside their own 10-yard line, the Broncos made a quick three-pointer and had to kick the ball right back to the Bengals after the defense had spent just over 10 minutes on the field.

At the start of the next drive, Riley Moss was on the bench, with Damarri Mathis in his place. The long drive was likely more of a precautionary measure than anything else as no updates on injuries were provided. Kris Abrams-Draine came into play on the next play. Not that they had to pick on them, they took advantage of a friendly referee environment for some soft calls and no calls on goal kicks to get inside the 10-yard line in short order at the two-minute warning.

Burrow would hit Tee Higgins with a quick slant shot for a touchdown before halftime.

Bengals 7, Broncos 3.

Bo Nix and the Broncos offense tried to get into field goal range before halftime. They got two quick first downs, but then Nix got a bad sack with 27 seconds left, forcing Denver to call its final timeout. He takes another ugly sack on the next play, ending any hope that Denver could score a field goal before halftime.