A young QB, 2 helpless star WRs among Broncos-Bengals winners, losers

Nothing like a good get-right game to put your season back on track as September gives way to October. That’s exactly what the Denver Broncos were able to enjoy in the second installment of Monday night’s twin bill, easily bucking the undermanned and underperforming Cincinnati Bengals by a 28-3 score at Empower Field at Mile High.

After dropping its previous two games (by a total of four points), Denver is level again at .500 as it prepares to play its next two games on the East Coast against the Eagles and Jets.

Meanwhile, the Bengals now stand at 2-2 themselves but are trending in the other direction and into what seems like an increasingly precarious position – a spot where we can find more losers from Monday night to go along with a few additional winners:

Winners

Bo Nix

His sophomore NFL season had been uneven at best through three weeks, which included the 1-2 start and not much luck moving the ball through the air. But Denver’s quarterback — with some help from Cincinnati’s leaky defense – got it going Monday night. Nix looked like the efficient player he was last season while surprisingly leading the Broncos to postseason, generally making safe passes that gave his targets room to run while taking off from the pocket himself when circumstances warranted. Nix finished with a season-high 326 yards passing, throwing for a pair of TDs while running for another.

Denver defense

Simply suffocating. This wasn’t a night when Broncos defenders were constantly celebrating turnovers, sacks or pick-sixes. But they simply didn’t cede an inch to a Cincinnati offense that averaged just 3.7 yards per play and was barely able to hold the ball for 22 minutes.

J.K. Dobbins

The Broncos new RB1, who signed with the team in June, rushed for 101 yards (on just 16 carries) – his most in more than a year, when he was still a member of the Chargers. Dobbins also became the first Broncos runner to hit the century mark in head coach Sean Payton’s 38-game tenure in the Rocky Mountains.

Russell Wilson?

Bengals QB2 Jake Browning has now had a pair of rough starts while filling in for injured Pro Bowler Joe Burrow. Browning can still point to his 2023 performance, when he won four of seven starts after Burrow went down with a season-ending wrist injury and wound up leading the league with a 70.4% completion rate. But he also won three of his first four starts in 2023 and hasn’t been nearly as efficient this year.

And while it would cut against the grain of Cincinnati’s traditional ethos, it’s worth wondering if the Bengals might explore a trade for a player like Wilson. He was just relegated to backup duties with the New York Giants might give another team, especially one geared to pass, at least a brief shot in the arm and perhaps keep it afloat long enough until Burrow is healthy enough to reclaim the wheel. Owner Mike Brown certainly couldn’t quibble with Wilson’s contract – which expires after the season and would only require anyone acquiring it to pay him the prorated version of his $2 million base salary.

Losers

Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins

Things were just peachy six months ago, when Cincinnati’s wideout tandem dually signed four-year extensions that could collectively max out at $276 million. Of course when you and your (injured) quarterback are making that kind of bank, doesn’t leave a whole lot – relatively – to invest in defenders, blockers or runners. Chase and Higgins combined for eight catches and 55 yards Monday night after teaming up for six catches and 65 yards in Week 3. Chase was in head coach Zac Taylor’s ear at times but hard for the 2024 receiving Triple Crown winner to do much when he’s not getting the ball against one of the league’s top secondaries.

In each of their last 2 games, the Bengals have:

lost by 25+ points
had under 200 total yards
had under 60 rushing yards
been outrushed by 100+ yards
taken 3+ sacks

No other NFL team in the Super Bowl era has done that in back-to-back games. pic.twitter.com/taVpYl0Mik

— OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) September 30, 2025

Bengals run game

Cincinnati came into Monday’s game averaging a league-worst 49 yards per game on the ground, 31 fewer than any other club. The Bengals were also the only team averaging fewer than 3 yards per rush in 2025 – a paltry 2.4. It was only (very) slightly better Monday night, the Stripes managing just 53 yards on 15 attempts – hardly enough to ease the burden on Browning.

Los Angeles Chargers

The Bolts’ record (3-1) was not only blemished by Sunday’s loss to the previously winless New York Giants, since the defeat, the Broncos and Kansas City Chiefs (both now 2-2) have pulled to within a game of the AFC West leaders.

Joe Buck and Troy Aikman

We’re splitting hairs here but turns that ESPN’s top “Monday Night Football” broadcast tandem would have scored a more entertaining assignment by going to South Florida, where the winless New York Jets and previously winless Miami Dolphins staged a more spirited contest.

Joe Burrow

If he’s hoping to save his team’s bacon with a miraculous return from his toe surgery in, say, mid-December … he’s gonna need more help than this. Cincy has scored all of 13 points since Burrow went down in Week 2, hardly fueling hope the team will be relevant two months from now.