At the quarter mark of the season and September in the books, the Denver Broncos have evened out in the standings. Through four games, they sit at 2-2. Through those four games, they’ve scored 28 points twice, once in a win and once in a loss. They’ve scored 20 points twice, once in a win and once in a loss. And they became the only team in NFL history to lose two consecutive games on the last second after leading for 59:59 in both games. A

After the rain stopped, the Broncos poured it on heavy on Monday Night Football, checking all the boxes in their 28-3 victory over the 2-2 Cincinnati Bengals. Albeit without their superstar quarterback Joe Burrow, the Broncos did what they were supposed to do against a team in turmoil - dominate. After scoring on their first possession with a field goal, the Bengals were shut out the remainder of the game, never scoring a touchdown, and never getting past the 50-yard line.

The team’s 512 yards in total offense was the best in over ten years. Quarterback Bo Nix threw for 326 yards with three touchdowns and had support from the running game. On the ground, the Broncos had their first 100-yard rusher in over two years with J.K. Dobbins going for 101 yards on 16 carries. The other running back, RJ Harvey, got his first touchdown on a pass reception, while passer Bo Nix added a rushing touchdown to balance out the scoring.

“One thing we did different tonight—there were certain tags that put either one in—but we gave them series,” said Head Coach Sean Payton about the running backs. “I think that helped both of them. Certainly it is easier to call plays. Both of them got in good rhythms and earned hard-fought yardage. Those guys [RB J.K. Dobbins and RB RJ Harvey] both ran hard. I thought we blocked them well, we pushed them well. We will look at the film, but it is good to have a 100-yard rusher. It was good to run.”

After scoring a touchdown in each of his first three games with the Broncos, J.K. Dobbins had a 6.3 yards per carry average and set up RJ Harvey for a touchdown after his longest run of 16 yards to close out the night.

“I’m one of those guys where if I get in a rhythm, if I get consecutive carries, I can get better,” Dobbins said after the game. “As the game goes on, I get better. I’m sure that’s probably every running back. They’ll probably tell you that. So tonight, in the second half, that’s what you saw. I think [Head] Coach [Sean] Payton is starting to figure me out, and [RB] RJ [Harvey] out, and the offensive line out and just the whole offense. He’s figuring it out, and he’s doing a great job of putting us in the right position. The series, getting consecutive touches, you see what happens. In 38 games, we never had a 100-yard rusher. That happened tonight because Coach Payton put us in that position.”

The biggest challenge of the season will come after the Broncos’ shortened week, as they travel to Philadelphia to take on the defending world champion Philadelphia Eagles. Game time on Sunday is scheduled for 11:00 AM MT.

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