The Denver Broncos are 3-0 with three of the toughest games on their schedule off of the board. Like their first two games, it wasn’t always easy, but the Orange & Blue clawed and clawed and eventually pushed through against the Cincinnati Bengals, pulling out a statement-sending 29-17 win.

What’s a story without some conflict? Things didn’t look great early for Denver as the Bengals shut down the Broncos initial drive in just three plays, then turned around and ran the ball right down the throat of the vaunted Denver defense, taking a 7-0 lead on a drive that featured a 50-yard scamper from Jeremy Hill.

The Broncos answered with an impressive drive of their own, a theme of the day. Trevor Siemian completed impressive throws to both Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders, but another theme of the early going came up when the offense stalled once again in the red zone. After a run and two failed passes, they settled for a Brandon McManus 20-yard field goal.

After a punt by the Bengals, the Broncos went three-and-out, punting back to Adam Jones. The long-time return man was hit as he went to the ground, fumbled the ball away and it was quickly scooped up by recently resigned Shiloh Keo.

The Broncos capitalized in spectacular fashion. Emmanuel Sanders, with Jones in coverage, ran a wheel route and Siemian put it on him for a 41-yard touchdown, giving Denver the 10-7 lead.

Nearing halftime, the Bengals, after having success on the ground, took to the air. Andy Dalton found A.J. Green and C.J. Uzomah to lead them into a short goal line look. Jeremy Hill once again found the end zone just two plays later on a run over the left tackle to regain the lead, 14-10.

Like a good heavyweight bout, both teams took time to recover then matched punches. On the ensuing Bengals kickoff, Cody Latimer returned the ball 46 yards to put the Broncos in prime position to score before the half. On eight pass plays and two run plays, the Broncos drove down the field, and Sanders again found the end zone on a short out-route touchdown reception. A blocked extra point resulted in a 16-14 Broncos’ halftime lead.

After a slow start to the second half for both teams, Cincy got things going to close out the quarter. Dalton made plays with his legs on impromptu scrambles and also found Green several times on his way to orchestrating a 15-play field-goal drive, giving Cincinnati 17-16 lead with one quarter to play.

In the same fashion as the rest of the game, the Broncos answered with a 13-play drive of their own. Siemian capped things off with a short touchdown pass to John Phillips. The ball didn’t touch the ground the entire drive and C.J. Anderson, Thomas and Sanders each had first downs to keep things. The Broncos took the five-point lead with just under seven minutes remaining; the seesaw was officially tipped to the orange side.

The Broncos took over completely after a Bengals punt. On a 3rd-and-11 Siemian dropped a deep go-route pass to Thomas for a 55-yard touchdown. The score put the Broncos up 29-17 and was quickly followed by an interception of Dalton by rookie safety Will Parks.

The Bengals attempted to throw their way back into the game, but it was not to be. The defense would not yield, and the Broncos left their first road trip with a victory on the arm of their young quarterback who finished the day with four touchdowns.

PLAYER OF THE GAME

Sanders was far and away the biggest impact player on either team. He out-caught the likes of Thomas and Green, scored two touchdowns and came up big at every turn for the Broncos offense. His final statistic line totaled nine catches for 117 receiving yards with two touchdowns.

A close runner-up was Siemian who played masterfully in the fourth quarter. He started the quarter going 9-of-10 with two touchdowns and went over 300 pass yards on the day. He also threw for four touchdowns and had some beautiful deep passes, which had alluded him up until week three’s game.

PLAY OF THE GAME

With 4:23 remaining, following a three-and-out by the Bengals, Siemian found Thomas on a 3rd and 11 for a 55-yard touchdown. The ball was perfectly placed and put the game out of reach. Thomas had struggled against Jones, who left the play before with a leg cramp. Thomas took advantage of the substitution and ultimately it won the game, increasing the score to 29-17.

QUOTE OF THE GAME

“That’s what we’ve been waiting for.”

-Chris Harris Jr. on the play of Trevor Siemian

TURNING POINT

This contest had several turning points as there were five lead changes and at every turn, both teams answered their opponent’s success. It was the Broncos’ ninth drive that finally turned the tide for good. The Bengals had just marched down the field on a 15-play drive to take the lead, and the Broncos did nearly the exact same, but they put up six points instead of three.

Siemian went 7-of-7 on a 13-play drive capped off with a touchdown pass to the little known John Phillips for a 22-17 lead with just 6:56 to play. The Broncos defense took care of the rest.

BY THE NUMBERS

132.1 – Siemian had a career day, and even for a player with just three regular season starts, it was impressive. He finished with a 132.1 passer rating and finished with four touchdown passes and 312 yards.

7 – The Bengals were called for seven penalties in the contest, several of which gave the Broncos first downs. In the first half, in particular, it aided the Broncos in putting points on the board.

206 – The Broncos held Dalton, the leading passer in the NFL entering Sunday’s contest, to just 206 passing yards, many of which were obtained while scrambling to comeback with less than three minutes left in the game. He did have success at times, but it was never lasting and ultimately they even picked him off for a crucial fourth quarter turnover.

LASTING IMPACT

The Broncos obviously improved to 3-0 and will lead the AFC West by at least a game after Sunday’s contests conclude. The biggest result of the game, outside of the end score, was the pummeling the Broncos took upfront on offense. Entering the game Ty Sambrailo was getting his first action since week three of last season at right tackle and throughout the contest, lineman were shuffled in and out due to injuries sustained in the physical contest. As a result, Siemian was sacked twice, hit six times and was often pressured. During the next week, it will be very interesting to see how multiple players heal moving into Week 4.

WHAT’S NEXT

The Broncos will follow the 29-17 win with another game on the road. They will visit the 1-1 Tampa Bay Buccaneers who are set to take on the Los Angeles Rams Sunday afternoon. The Bucs had an impressive week one win over the Atlanta Falcons followed by a deflating blowout loss to the Arizona Cardinals. After Sunday’s games, the Broncos still own AFC West.