Both Bengals And Broncos Need Win As Playoff Positioning Is At Stake

By Danny Cox

The Denver Broncos have a huge game coming up against the Cincinnati Bengals on Monday Night Football. Yes, the Bengals have already clinched a playoff spot, but they're also still battling for positioning in the postseason and don't want to let a first-round bye escape them.

That being said, the Bengals are going to leave it all out on the field and show this isn't just one more game before the playoffs. Denver needs to be ready because the Bengals are going to come out fighting.

Season Record

At 11-3, the Bengals have clinched a playoff spot, but still have the chance of winning the AFC North and also getting a first-round bye in the playoffs. Home-field advantage is even still on the table, which means Cincinnati is going to do everything they can to take out the Broncos on Monday night.

Bengals On Offense

The Bengals are likely going to be without starting quarterback Andy Dalton again, and it will be AJ McCarron starting in his place. McCarron has done a good job and it helps that he has targets like A.J. Green, Marvin Jones, and Mohamed Sanu to throw the ball to.

Looking at individual numbers, it may not seem like the Bengals have much of a running game, but it's a great two-headed monster. Jeremy Hill has 635 yards and Giovani Bernard has 680 yards, but Hill is the scorer as he has 10 touchdowns compared to two for Bernard.

Bengals On Defense

The Bengals are a team that knows how to rush the passer, as they have four players with five or more sacks and two in double digits. Geno Atikins has 10 on the season while Carlos Dunlap has rejuvenated his career and leads the team with 10.5 sacks. Cincinnati also knows how to cause turnovers as they've forced nine fumbles while recovering six of them. On a bigger note though, the Bengals have 19 interceptions as a team with Reggie Nelson leading the pack with eight.

Players To Watch

Monday night's game against the Broncos is an important one for the Bengals and some are saying that AJ McCarron needs to have the game of his life against Denver. The Broncos will have to use their number one ranking in total defense and scoring defense to stop McCarron who will need to take advantage of all his big weapons.

Defensively, there are a lot of playmakers that the Bengals have to face the Bengals, but their unspoken leader is linebacker Vontaze Burfict. After last year being riddled with injuries, he's made a good comeback this season to lead the Bengals and he's always around the ball so Denver needs to spy on him the whole night.

Outlook

Denver has been playing well, but fading in the second half the last couple of weeks, especially on offense. The Broncos will need to play a full 60 minutes against Cincinnati because the Bengals are going to bring every weapon they have as they fight to improve their playoff standing.

Danny Cox knows a little something about the NFL, whether it means letting you know what penalty will come from the flag just thrown on the field or quickly spouting off who the Chicago Bears drafted in the first round of the 1987 draft (Jim Harbaugh). He plans on bringing you the best news, previews, recaps, and anything else that may come along with the exciting world of the National Football League. Danny is a freelance writer covering all things NFL. His work can be found on Examiner.com.