DENVER _ A quick look at the Bengals' 28-3 loss to the Broncos on Monday Night Football.

WHAT'S NEXT

The Bengals fell to 2-2 and are now in second place in the AFC North, a game behind the Steelers, and it sets up Sunday's 4:25 p.m. game at Paycor Stadium against NFC power Detroit.

A short week, but left tackle Orlando Brown Jr., a captain, suggested his teammates are going to have a long one trying to figure out what they have to change to reverse the last two games. He indicated the leadership group could sit down and meet.

"I imagine we will," Brown said. "We have to figure out the intent that we have in practice, game, whatever it may be. So we can come out here and flourish. In my opinion, we're so much better than what we've put on tape the last two weeks …I believe in every man in here. We'll figure it out."

GAME-CHANGER

The Bengals moved the ball early. Quarterback Jake Browning hit five of his first six passes, and the Bengals were off on a 12-play opening drive. Evan McPherson kicked a chip-shot field goal to give them a 3-0 lead.

Then, early in the second quarter and the Bengals trailing, 7-3, Browning let wide receiver Tee Higgins go climb down the right sideline for a 37-yarder, and the Bengals were in business at the Broncos 14. But right tackle Amarius Mims was called for not being on the ball, setting off a run of four flags in the next six snaps and a punt. Browning finished 14 of 25 for 125 yards after the hot start.

"I'm not going to sit up here and say one play. There's a lot of different plays throughout the game that momentum swings and all that," Browning said. "My focus for this week is, on offense, we're all part of the problem and we all need to be a part of the solution, and I'm going to do everything I can to make sure that I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing to be a part of the solution."

Wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase had a play that might have been bigger than that. The Bengals, up 3-0 on their second drive, faced a fourth-and-two from their own 45. They tried to draw the Broncos offsides and appeared to do it, but it was center Ted Karras who was called for a false start. They punted, and Denver went ahead four minutes later.

"We drew them offsides and didn't get that call," Chase said. "It was pretty obvious on our iPad. You see it."

PLAY OF THE GAME

Bengals rookie linebacker Demetrius Knight Jr. made the play of the game for both sides. Staring at a fourth-and-one from the Bengals 2 with 2:04 left in the first half and the Broncos leading, 14-3, Knight read quarterback Bo Nix's throw into the end zone. He tipped it to himself before diving on it and tucking it well enough for the refs to give him his first NFL interception.

It was a huge play, but the Bengals couldn't take advantage. They went three-and-out, and Nix responded to his mistake going 80 yards in 61 seconds to give Denver a 21-3 lead.

"What a way to step up and make a play," said Knight, who staked his claim for Bengals rookie of the year with the pick and a game-high 10 tackles. "Way to step up and try to create momentum. It's a game of momentum. When you have it, you have it. When you don't, you don't.

"It's kind of hard to generate it, but we've got to find different ways to generate it. We've got to find ways to generate it on offense, and defensively we have to complement it. We have to give it right back to them, so we are in the process of ironing out the kinks. It's still early."

QUOTE OF THE DAY

Browning on the Bengals going for 159 yards after being held to 10 points in Minnesota:

"I think anytime you are struggling or not doing well on offense, there's a lot that goes into it. I think for me, my focus is on my role in that which is dropping back, making sure I'm making good decisions and to continue to move the ball forward. There's a lot that goes into it, and I'm focused on my role and trying to be the solution. Finding a way to be more explosive, put up more points, sustain more drives, to be better on third down. Just play better offense in general."

SLANTS AND SCREENS

During a five-catch, 23-yard game, Chase showed some emotion, and head coach Zac Taylor loves it.

"That's just a captain that works his tail off. All he wants to do is win the game. All he wants to do is affect the game and oftentimes he feels like, 'if I have the ball in my hands, I can do that' and I don't disagree with him," Taylor said. "We're always looking for ways to get him the ball. Obviously, sometimes for him, you can't see what's going on the backfield and some of the challenges that you face back there. I love Ja'Marr. When I'm done coaching, he will be one of my all-time favorites for the way that he matured. I wouldn't say matured because he was never immature, but just the way he's become the total pro that you want in your football team." ...

Early in the second half, it looked like Bengals safety P.J. Jules had stripped punt returner Marvin Mims Jr., and recovered a fumble in the red zone. But Jules was called for interfering with a fair catch, even though Mims bobbled it right to him.

"You've got to give into space on the bobble so that it becomes not a penalty at that point," Taylor said. "They just get possession of the ball at the spot that it happened. I know it was confusing there for a second, but the right call was made, and the right spot was made." ...

The Bengals tied for their second-most penalties under Taylor with 11, and Chase, the captain, says it's discipline.

"Flags on the field," he said.

Rookie right guard Jalen Rivers got his first NFL start in one of the iconic NFL environments.

"I feel great about the opportunity. You've got to make the most of it, and I felt like I did decent for the most part," Rivers said. "Of course you look back at the film, and there are some things to work on. We didn't come out with the outcome we wanted, but it felt great to be out there and you can learn from it and grow from it." ...

Broncos head coach Sean Payton tied mentor Bill Parcells for 16th on the all-time wins list Monday, which means he's been around a long time. Long enough that his offense recorded a 500-yard game against the Bengals in a third different decade. He had done it with the 2006 and 2018 Saints ...