10 telling stats from the Broncos' win over the Bengals

Running down the significant stats and notable numbers following the Broncos’ 29-17 Week 3 win in Cincinnati on Sunday. (And as you might expect, Trevor Siemian will be mentioned a time or three.)

Siemian got off to a slow start Sunday morning, completing only 5-of-12 passes for 49 yards on the Broncos’ first three possessions (all in the first quarter), but finished by completing 18 of 23 for 263 yards and four scores over the final three periods.

Siemian completed passes to nine different pass-catchers Sunday, but 15 of his 23 completions, 217 of his 312 yards and three of his four TD tosses went to wideouts Emmanuel Sanders (9-117-2 on 13 targets) and Demaryius Thomas (6-100-1 on seven targets) who had both expressed desires over the previous week about being more involved in the offense. Coming into the game, Sanders and Thomas had caught 17 of 29 targets for 226 yards and no TDs.

Siemian’s 3-0 start is part of a stunning overall league trend that has seen first-year starting quarterbacks compile a combined record of 11-2 through the first three weeks of the season. Eagles rookie Carson Wentz also is 3-0 as is the Patriots’ young starting duo of Jimmy Garoppolo and Jacoby Brissett while Cowboys rookie Dak Prescott is 2-1 and Browns rookie Cody Kessler is 0-1.

Speaking of rookies, Broncos first-year punter Riley Dixon had another solid gross-punting afternoon, averaging 46.2 yards on five kicks and is now averaging 46.9 yards on 10 punts overall this season. Dixon, however, has placed only one of his 10 punts inside the opposition’s 20-yard line while totaling two touchbacks so far.

The Denver defense entered the game allowing an average of 120 rushing yards per game (ranked 24^th in the league), and that average will go up after Cincy ran for 143 yards and a pair of TDs on 29 carries. Jeremy Hill accounted for 65 yards and a TD on four carries on the Bengals’ opening drive but was limited to 32 yards and a TD on 13 carries the rest of the way. In all, Hill averaged 5.7 yards per carry on the day, but take away his 50-yard run on the opening drive and he was held to 47 yards on his other 16 totes (2.9 yards per carry).

Overall, the Orange & Blue’s opposition has rushed for 383 yards on 82 carries so far this season, but quarterbacks have accounted for 116 of those yards on 20 rushes after Andy Dalton picked up 40 on six rushes Sunday.

Opposing QBs, however, haven’t fared nearly as well through the air of late versus the Denver D. Updating some impressive figures from last week’s stats report, the last six quarterbacks the Broncos have faced – Ben Roethlisberger, Tom Brady, Cam Newton (twice), Andrew Luck and Andy Dalton – have combined for only three TD passes, six interceptions and three lost fumbles after Dalton finished 21 of 31 for 206 yards, no scores and a pick Sunday.

On the subject of turnovers, Broncos PR boss Patrick Smyth notes that with Sunday’s win, the Broncos now have won a league-high 25 straight games when they’ve finished with a positive turnover ratio. Denver was a plus-one in Cincy with a recovered fumble and rookie Will Parks’ interception offsetting Thomas’ fumble.

The Broncos on Sunday continued their second-half/fourth-quarter dominance, outscoring Cincy 13-3 in both following a scoreless third quarter. For the season, Denver has outscored their three foes by a combined 48-20 in the second half, including 45-13 in the fourth quarter. Only the 49ers (46 points) have been more productive on the fourth-quarter scoreboard, and the Broncos have put more points in the final quarter than they have in the other three quarters combined (39) so far.

Finally, by winning their 2016 road debut, the Orange & Blue are now a league-best 29-14 (.674) in road/neutral-site games since the start of the 2011 season. The Patriots, at 28-16 (.636) are the only other team with a road/neutral winning percentage above 58-percent.