The five most important stats as the Broncos take on the Bengals

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — The Denver Broncos finally get to breathe.

Over the last three games, the Broncos have gone through the gauntlet—facing teams with a combined record of 21-6, including the No. 1 team in the NFL, the Philadelphia Eagles, and two top teams in the AFC, the New England Patriots and Kansas City Chiefs.

On Sunday, for the first time in nearly a month, they will face a team with a losing record—the 3-6 Cincinnati Bengals. However, the Bengals are better than their losing record suggests. After losing their first three of the season, they’ve gone 3-3, trending in the opposite direction of the Broncos.

If Denver wants to hold off the Bengals, and give their season any shot of survival, these four numbers will be key to beating Marvin Lewis’ team.

225

Typically in the NFL, as the quarterback goes, so goes the team. The Bengals are not an exception to this rule, leaving their success in the hands of Andy Dalton—specifically his total passing yards.

In the Bengals’ three wins, Dalton has thrown for over 243 yards in each game, including a season-high 328 against the Buffalo Bills in Week 5.

Following the same rule, in the team’s six losses, the former second-round pick passed for less than 243 yards in each game but one—including three games in which he threw for under 200 yards—with his high-mark in that stretch at only 224 yards.

Denver’s defense has allowed more than 225 passing yards four times this season. It appears they’ll need to hold Dalton under 225 yards on Sunday to get the victory.

116

The Bengals’ defense has allowed less than 116 rushing yards just four times this season. In those four games, Cincinnati has gone 3-1, with their lone loss being their closest loss of the season—in overtime to the Green Bay Packers.

In their three wins, they’ve allowed 115, 82 and 43 rushing yards, an average of 80 yards per game. In their six losses, however, they’ve allowed 145 rushing yards per game.

The Broncos have rushed for 116 yards or more in five of their games. However, they’ve only been able to hit that mark twice in their last five games.

15

When it comes to the only number that matters at the end of the game, points, the Bengals have been consistent in their wins and consistent in their losses.

Cincinnati has gone 3-2 when their offense scores more than 14 points, with their one loss last week to the Tennessee Titans and the other to the Packers in overtime. In their victories, the Bengals average 25 points per game. In their five losses, it’s a completely different story as they only average 12.3 points per game. The Bengals’ have offensive outputs of zero, seven and nine in three of their losses.

The Broncos’ defense has only held opposing teams under 15 points once this season—in their 16-10 victory over the Oakland Raiders.

2.5

Led by Geno Atkins, one of the league’s best defensive tackles, the Bengals have had no trouble getting after opposing quarterbacks in their three victories.

In their losses, however, opposing quarterbacks haven’t been as easy to take down. In the Bengals’ six losses, they’ve had more than three sacks just twice and have averaged only 2.3 sacks per game.

In their three wins, they’ve got after the quarterback significantly more—averaging four sacks per game.

For the Broncos to win, protecting Brock Osweiler will be key. Unfortunately, that’ll be a tall task as that’s been a major struggle for the Broncos, who currently give up an average of over three sacks per game, ranking seventh-worst in the league.