The Bengals play their first prime-time game of the season in Denver against the Broncos on Monday Night Football.

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Scouting Report

By: Michael Hull

Broncos Offense

Second-year signal caller Bo Nix leads the Broncos offense.

Nix's six turnover-worthy throws are tied for the fourth most in the NFL, per PFF. However, his five passing touchdowns rank in the top 10 in the league, and he's completed two 40+ yard passes, tied for the second most in the NFL.

Former Ravens and Chargers running back J.K. Dobbins has dominated the touches in the backfield, carrying the ball 41 times in three games. For comparison, rookie RJ Harvey has 13 carries. Dobbins averaged 5.4 yards per carry in the first three games and has found the end zone three times. The third-round pick Harvey has averaged 6.2 yards per carry, the third-highest rate among backs with at least 10 touches.

WR Courtland Sutton has the third-highest PFF offensive grade on the Broncos (71.1). Sutton leads the team with 21 targets, 185 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns, while WR Troy Franklin leads in receptions with 14. TE Evan Engram, signed in the offseason from the Jaguars, missed Week 3 with a back injury.

The Denver offensive line boasts the highest PFF pass-block grade in the league (79.3), and PFF has them credited with just 20 total pressures allowed through the first three weeks. Left tackle Garrett Bolles has a 90.0 pass-block grade, the highest of any offensive linemen in the NFL over the first three weeks. The 2017 first-round pick from Utah has allowed two pressures in three games, tied for the fourth fewest among tackles with at least 100 pass-block snaps.

Broncos Defense

Denver's defense served as its calling card in 2024, allowing the third-fewest points per game (18.3) and the seventh-fewest yards per game (317.1). So far in 2025, the Broncos have allowed 22.0 points per game, good for 16th in the league, and are tied with the Bengals and Los Angeles Rams for the 10th-most takeaways (four).

The production starts up front, as Denver has posted the seventh-highest PFF pass-rush grade so far this season (75.4) and has 87 total pressures. The unit, headlined by edge rusher Nik Bonitto, is tied with the Rams for the most sacks through three weeks with 12. Bonitto has added three on his own, ranking in the top 10, and is 1.5 off the league leader Rashan Gary. On the other side, edge rusher Jonathon Cooper is right behind Bonitto with 16 pressures (Bonitto has 17). Both players rank in the top five of total pressures. The pass-rush group also added former 49er Dre Greenlaw in the offseason, but Greenlaw has yet to play this season with a quad injury.

Denver has allowed the 12th-most rushing yards per game so far in 2025 and gave up 165 yards to Colts RB Jonathan Taylor in Week 2. It also has 21 missed tackles in run defense over the first three weeks, including nine in last week's loss to the Chargers, per PFF.

The secondary is anchored by 2024 Defensive Player of the Year Pat Surtain II. Surtain has been targeted 15 times in the first three weeks and allowed 10 receptions after allowing 40 all of last season. When the Broncos came to Paycor Stadium last season in a Week 17 overtime thriller, Surtain held WR Ja’Marr Chase to three receptions for 27 yards on six targets.

In that same game, CB Riley Moss struggled to contain WR Tee Higgins, allowing seven receptions for 101 yards and two touchdowns while covering the wideout, who scored three touchdowns in the win. The team drafted Texas CB Jahdae Barron in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft, but Moss has taken the majority of snaps early in the year, playing 133 coverage snaps to Barron's 35.

What to Watch For

By: Ben Savarick

Uno vs. Surtain

Monday night features the first-ever showdown between the reigning Triple Crown winner and the reigning AP Defensive Player of the Year, as Cincinnati's Ja’Marr Chase will line up against Denver cornerback Pat Surtain II. Last season, Chase led the NFL and set Bengals single-season records for receptions (127), receiving yards (1,708) and receiving touchdowns (17; tied team record). Surtain recorded four interceptions and 11 passes defensed, while also allowing the fewest passing yards (306) among all cornerbacks with at least 400 coverage snaps.

The two All-Pro performers faced off in last December's thriller at Paycor Stadium, which proved to be a back-and-forth individual battle. Surtain covered Chase on 36 routes run, and on six targets he yielded three receptions for 27 yards. Chase finished the game with 102 yards on nine catches, exploiting zone coverages and matchups against other Broncos defensive backs.

"It's always good to watch Ja'Marr match up against great corners," said Bengals head coach Zac Taylor on Thursday. "If Tee (Higgins) gets matched up as well, we always expect our guys to hold their own and find a winning matchup for us. I think (Surtain) is a really elite corner in this league, and I think our guys are always up for that challenge."

Chasing Monday Night History

In addition to his matchup against Surtain, Chase's outlook on Monday night also includes several statistical benchmarks in reach. With one catch, he would move into a tie with Cris Collinsworth for the sixth-most receptions in Bengals history (417). Chase's current career total of 416 is tied with Ring of Honor member Isaac Curtis for seventh place on the team's all-time chart.

Chase has played under the lights on Monday Night Football four previous times in his career, and his numbers in those contests have been historically great. He has logged at least 115 receiving yards in each game, and hauled in at least 10 receptions in three of the four appearances.

With 100 receiving yards at Denver, Chase would become the first player in NFL history to cross the century mark in each of his first five games on Monday Night Football.

Money Mac Closing in on 100

Evan McPherson enters Monday night's contest with 97 career field goals in regular-season games. Should he get to 100 in what will be his 65th game, he would tie Horst Muhlmann as the fourth-fastest kickers in Bengals history to reach that milestone. The only Cincinnati kickers to get to 100 field goals in fewer games were Doug Pelfrey (59 games), Shayne Graham (62) and Mike Nugent (62).

McPherson, whose 82.2 career field goal percentage is the third-highest in team history, has knocked through all three of his attempts this season. He is coming off his longest kick of the year in Week 3 at Minnesota, a 45-yarder in the second quarter.

Red Zone Battle

Cincinnati's offense has been efficient inside the red zone this season, coming away with points in all eight of its possessions that have reached the opponent's 20-yard line. Six of those opportunities have resulted in touchdowns, and the Bengals' 75 percent touchdown rate in the red zone currently is tied for the fifth-highest in the NFL.

This week, the offense goes up against a Broncos defensive unit that has allowed just three touchdowns on 11 red zone possessions (27.3 percent), the second-best rate in the league. Denver has limited the other eight red zone appearances to field goal attempts.

The Bengals drove into the red zone seven times against the Broncos in their Week 17 meeting last season, which yielded four touchdowns, one made field goal, one missed field goal and a turnover on downs.

Check out the Bengals 2025 Schedule.