Denver had not produced a 100-yard rusher in 38 games. That streak ended on a Monday night in front of 76,489 at Empower Field at Mile High, when J.K. Dobbins carried the ball 16 times for 101 yards and the Broncos dismantled the Cincinnati Bengals, 28–3, to snap a two-game skid.
Bo Nix completed 29 of 42 passes for a career-high 326 yards, two touchdown passes, and an additional score on the ground, finishing with a 97.9 passer rating. Denver piled up 512 total yards against a Cincinnati defense that had no answer for the Broncos’ ground game or the short-to-intermediate passing attack Nix and offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi deployed all night. The Bengals, playing a second straight game without starter Joe Burrow (toe), produced 159 total yards, converted 2 of 11 third downs, and punted on eight consecutive possessions after Evan McPherson’s first-quarter field goal.
Patrick Surtain II held Ja’Marr Chase to 23 yards on five catches. Courtland Sutton hauled in five passes for 81 yards and a touchdown with 8 seconds left in the first half. Linebacker Demetrius Knight Jr. picked off Nix in the end zone on a fourth-and-1 throw from the Cincinnati 2 — the one true blemish in an otherwise dominant Denver performance. “On offense we’re all part of the problem,” backup quarterback Jake Browning said afterward, “and we all need to be a part of the solution.”
Table of Contents
Game Information
Detail
Date
Monday, September 29, 2025
Kickoff
8:15 PM ET
Venue
Empower Field at Mile High, Denver, CO
Attendance
76,489
Weather
66°F · 55% humidity · 12 mph wind · Outdoors
Surface
Grass
Vegas Line
Denver –7.5
Over/Under
44.0 (Under)
Broadcast
ABC / Monday Night Football
Duration
2:59
Final Score
Team
Q1
Q2
Q3
Q4
Final
Cincinnati Bengals (2–2)
3
0
0
0
3
Denver Broncos (2–2)
7
14
0
7
28
Scoring Plays
Qtr
Time
Team
Play
Drive
CIN
DEN
1st
9:08
CIN
Evan McPherson 26-yd field goal
12 plays, 62 yds, 5:52
3
0
1st
0:17
DEN
Bo Nix 6-yd rush (Wil Lutz kick)
9 plays, 64 yds, 4:07
3
7
2nd
8:48
DEN
Marvin Mims Jr. 16-yd end-around (Wil Lutz kick)
8 plays, 80 yds, 3:04
3
14
2nd
0:08
DEN
Courtland Sutton 20-yd pass from Bo Nix (Wil Lutz kick)
9 plays, 80 yds, 1:01
3
21
4th
4:58
DEN
RJ Harvey 12-yd pass from Bo Nix (Wil Lutz kick)
10 plays, 76 yds, 6:11
3
28
Nix’s 2nd-quarter interception: On 4th-and-1 from the Cincinnati 2-yard line, Nix threw to the end zone and Knight picked it off for a touchback. The Bengals started their next drive at their own 20. Denver responded with a 9-play, 80-yard drive and Sutton’s TD gave the Broncos a 21–3 halftime lead.
Team Stats
Stat
CIN
DEN
Total Yards
159
512
Total Plays
43
80
Yards per Play
3.7
6.4
Avg EPA per Play
–0.292
+0.220
First Downs
9
29
— Rushing
3
11
— Passing
3
17
— Penalty
3
1
Net Passing Yards
106
326
Completions–Attempts
14–25
29–42
Yards per Pass Attempt
3.8
7.8
Sacks–Yards Lost
3–19
0–0
Net Rushing Yards
53
186
Rush Attempts
15
38
Yards per Carry
3.5
4.9
3rd Down Efficiency
2–11 (18%)
8–14 (57%)
4th Down Efficiency
0–0
0–1
Red Zone (Scores–Att)
0–1
3–4
Penalties–Yards
11–65
7–72
Turnovers
0
1
Fumbles Lost
0
0
Interceptions Thrown
0
1
Time of Possession
22:02
37:58
Total Drives
10
10
Avg Yards per Drive
14.4
46.0
Avg Points per Drive
0.3
2.5
Avg Plays per Drive
4.9
8.4
Explosive Runs (10+ yds)
0
5
Explosive Passes (15+ yds)
2
7
Deep Attempts (20+ yds)
3
3
Deep Completions
0
2
Passing Stats
Player
Team
Cmp
Att
Yds
TD
INT
Sk
Sk Yds
Lng
Rating
QBR
Jake Browning
CIN
14
25
125
0
0
3
–19
22
69.6
28.4
Bo Nix
DEN
29
42
326
2
1
0
0
28
97.9
74.1
Advanced Passing
Player
Team
Cmp%
Adj Cmp%
aDOT
IAY/PA
YAC
YAC/Cmp
Drops
Drop%
Bad Th%
Pressure%
TTT
Jake Browning
CIN
56.0%
71.4%
8.0
8.0
68
4.9
1
4.5%
22.7%
24.1%
2.76s
Bo Nix
DEN
69.0%
85.0%
6.3
6.7
225
7.8
5
11.9%
16.7%
18.2%
2.71s
aDOT = Average Depth of Target | IAY/PA = Intended Air Yards per Attempt | TTT = Time to Throw
Rushing Stats
Player
Team
Att
Yds
Avg
TD
Lng
YBC/Att
YAC/Att
Chase Brown
CIN
10
40
4.0
0
6
2.0
2.0
Samaje Perine
CIN
1
4
4.0
0
4
3.0
1.0
Andrei Iosivas
CIN
1
5
5.0
0
5
5.0
0.0
Jake Browning
CIN
3
4
1.3
0
3
0.7
0.7
CIN Total
15
53
3.5
0
6
J.K. Dobbins
DEN
16
101
6.3
0
16
4.4
1.9
RJ Harvey
DEN
14
58
4.1
0
9
1.8
2.4
Marvin Mims Jr.
DEN
1
16
16.0
1
16
15.0
1.0
Bo Nix
DEN
6
7
1.2
1
6
1.0
0.2
Adam Prentice
DEN
1
4
4.0
0
4
2.0
2.0
DEN Total
38
186
4.9
2
16
Receiving Stats
Player
Team
Tgt
Rec
Yds
TD
Avg
Lng
YAC
aDOT
Drop
Tee Higgins
CIN
6
3
32
0
10.7
19
6
13.2
0
Chase Brown
CIN
3
3
31
0
10.3
12
33
–0.7
0
Ja’Marr Chase
CIN
8
5
23
0
4.6
10
13
5.8
1
Andrei Iosivas
CIN
1
1
22
0
22.0
22
8
14.0
0
Mitchell Tinsley
CIN
2
1
9
0
9.0
9
5
13.5
0
Mike Gesicki
CIN
1
1
8
0
8.0
8
3
5.0
0
Samaje Perine
CIN
1
0
0
0
—
—
—
–3.0
0
CIN Total
22
14
125
0
8.9
22
68
Courtland Sutton
DEN
6
5
81
1
16.2
22
42
8.2
0
Marvin Mims Jr.
DEN
6
6
69
0
11.5
28
48
3.5
0
Troy Franklin
DEN
8
4
55
0
13.8
23
28
14.3
2
RJ Harvey
DEN
5
4
40
1
10.0
14
39
3.0
1
Adam Trautman
DEN
3
2
32
0
16.0
26
25
3.7
0
Evan Engram
DEN
7
4
29
0
7.3
11
22
8.9
1
Tyler Badie
DEN
2
1
11
0
11.0
11
7
4.0
1
Nate Adkins
DEN
3
2
5
0
2.5
7
7
–1.0
0
J.K. Dobbins
DEN
1
1
4
0
4.0
4
7
–3.0
0
Pat Bryant
DEN
1
0
0
0
—
—
—
6.0
0
DEN Total
42
29
326
2
11.2
28
225
Defensive Stats
Tackles, Sacks & Passes Defensed
Player
Team
Comb
Solo
Ast
Sacks
TFL
PD
QB Hits
Demetrius Knight Jr.
CIN
10
6
4
0.0
0
1
0
Geno Stone
CIN
10
4
6
0.0
0
0
0
Daxton Hill
CIN
9
5
4
0.0
0
1
0
Jordan Battle
CIN
9
4
5
0.0
0
0
0
B.J. Hill
CIN
5
4
1
0.0
1
0
0
Logan Wilson
CIN
5
2
3
0.0
0
0
0
Trey Hendrickson
CIN
4
2
2
0.0
0
0
0
Josh Newton
CIN
4
3
1
0.0
0
0
0
DJ Turner II
CIN
4
2
2
0.0
0
0
0
Kris Jenkins Jr.
CIN
4
1
3
0.0
0
0
0
Tedarrell Slaton
CIN
4
3
1
0.0
0
0
0
Barrett Carter
CIN
4
1
3
0.0
0
0
0
Shaka Heyward
CIN
4
1
3
0.0
0
0
0
Myles Murphy
CIN
3
2
1
0.0
0
0
0
Mike Pennel
CIN
3
0
3
0.0
0
0
0
Cameron Sample
CIN
1
0
1
0.0
0
0
1
Joseph Ossai
CIN
1
1
0
0.0
0
0
0
Oren Burks
CIN
1
0
1
0.0
0
0
0
Alex Singleton
DEN
11
6
5
0.0
0
0
1
Ja’Quan McMillian
DEN
4
1
3
0.0
0
0
0
Nik Bonitto
DEN
3
2
1
1.5
1
0
2
Jahdae Barron
DEN
3
2
1
0.0
0
0
0
Justin Strnad
DEN
3
1
2
0.0
0
0
0
Brandon Jones
DEN
3
1
2
0.0
0
1
0
John Franklin-Myers
DEN
2
1
1
1.0
1
0
1
Jonathon Cooper
DEN
2
1
1
0.5
0
1
2
Riley Moss
DEN
2
2
0
0.0
0
0
0
Patrick Surtain II
DEN
2
0
2
0.0
0
0
0
Garret Wallow
DEN
2
0
2
0.0
0
0
0
D.J. Jones
DEN
1
1
0
0.0
0
0
0
Talanoa Hufanga
DEN
1
1
0
0.0
0
0
0
Karene Reid
DEN
1
1
0
0.0
0
0
0
Devon Key
DEN
1
0
1
0.0
0
0
0
Dondrea Tillman
DEN
1
1
0
0.0
0
0
0
Interceptions
Player
Team
INT
Yds
TD
Demetrius Knight Jr.
CIN
1
0
0
Pass Rush – Individual Pressures
Player
Team
Total Pressures
Sacks
Hits
Hurries
Pressure%
Joseph Ossai
CIN
4
0
0
4
12.9%
Myles Murphy
CIN
2
0
0
2
7.7%
Trey Hendrickson
CIN
2
0
1
1
6.9%
Cameron Sample
CIN
1
0
1
0
10.0%
B.J. Hill
CIN
1
0
0
1
4.0%
Tedarrell Slaton
CIN
1
0
0
1
5.0%
Logan Wilson
CIN
1
0
0
1
50.0%
John Franklin-Myers
DEN
4
1
0
3
26.7%
Jonathon Cooper
DEN
4
1
1
2
23.5%
Nik Bonitto
DEN
4
1.5
0
2
21.1%
Jonah Elliss
DEN
2
0
0
2
16.7%
Zach Allen
DEN
1
0
0
1
4.0%
Alex Singleton
DEN
1
0
1
0
100%
Coverage – Advanced Metrics
Player
Team
Tgt
Cmp
Cmp%
Yds Allowed
TD
INT
Coverage Rtg
Daxton Hill
CIN
9
7
77.8%
69
1
0
135.6
Geno Stone
CIN
4
4
100.0%
57
1
0
158.3
Logan Wilson
CIN
5
3
60.0%
40
0
0
85.4
Josh Newton
CIN
5
3
60.0%
24
0
0
72.1
Demetrius Knight Jr.
CIN
5
3
60.0%
38
0
1
44.2
Jordan Battle
CIN
4
2
50.0%
20
0
0
64.6
DJ Turner II
CIN
4
2
50.0%
17
0
0
61.5
Cam Taylor-Britt
CIN
2
2
100.0%
41
0
0
118.7
Riley Moss
DEN
7
3
42.9%
35
0
0
58.6
Alex Singleton
DEN
5
5
100.0%
30
0
0
91.7
Ja’Quan McMillian
DEN
3
2
66.7%
22
0
0
88.2
Jahdae Barron
DEN
2
2
100.0%
18
0
0
104.2
Justin Strnad
DEN
1
1
100.0%
12
0
0
116.7
Patrick Surtain II
DEN
2
1
50.0%
8
0
0
60.4
Talanoa Hufanga
DEN
1
1
100.0%
1
0
0
79.2
Special Teams
Kicking
Player
Team
FGM–FGA
FG%
Long
XPM–XPA
Points
Evan McPherson
CIN
1–1
100.0%
26
0–0
3
Wil Lutz
DEN
0–0
—
—
4–4
4
Punting
Player
Team
Punts
Yds
Avg
Long
TB
In 20
Ryan Rehkow
CIN
8
403
50.4
69
1
3
Jeremy Crawshaw
DEN
4
199
49.8
62
2
1
Kick Returns
Player
Team
Ret
Yds
Avg
TD
Long
Charlie Jones
CIN
2
48
24.0
0
30
RJ Harvey
DEN
2
58
29.0
0
29
Punt Returns
Player
Team
Ret
Yds
Avg
TD
Long
Charlie Jones
CIN
1
16
16.0
0
16
Marvin Mims Jr.
DEN
3
24
8.0
0
13
Drive Chart
Denver Broncos
#
Qtr
Time
Start
Plays
Length
Yds
Result
1
1st
9:08
DEN 30
3
2:20
8
Punt
2
1st
4:24
DEN 36
9
4:07
64
Touchdown
3
2nd
11:52
DEN 20
8
3:04
80
Touchdown
4
2nd
8:11
DEN 30
13
6:13
68
Interception
5
2nd
1:09
DEN 20
9
1:01
80
Touchdown
6
3rd
15:00
DEN 30
5
2:25
14
Punt
7
3rd
10:59
DEN 15
7
4:39
30
Punt
8
3rd
2:53
DEN 7
9
5:06
37
Punt
9
4th
11:09
DEN 24
10
6:11
76
Touchdown
10
4th
2:52
DEN 19
7
2:52
20
End of Game
Cincinnati Bengals
#
Qtr
Time
Start
Plays
Length
Yds
Result
1
1st
15:00
CIN 30
12
5:52
62
Field Goal
2
1st
6:48
CIN 10
4
2:24
30
Punt
3
1st
0:17
CIN 35
5
3:25
9
Punt
4
2nd
8:48
CIN 14
3
0:37
0
Punt
5
2nd
1:58
CIN 20
3
0:49
1
Punt
6
2nd
0:08
CIN 35
1
0:08
–1
End of Half
7
3rd
12:35
CIN 30
3
1:36
8
Punt
8
3rd
6:20
CIN 20
6
3:27
29
Punt
9
4th
12:47
CIN 16
4
1:38
6
Punt
10
4th
4:58
CIN 35
3
2:06
7
Punt
Snap Counts
Denver Broncos — Offense
Player
Pos
Snaps
Pct
Bo Nix
QB
81
100%
Ben Powers
G
81
100%
Luke Wattenberg
C
81
100%
Mike McGlinchey
T
78
96%
Quinn Meinerz
G
78
96%
Garett Bolles
T
77
95%
Courtland Sutton
WR
69
85%
Troy Franklin
WR
47
58%
Adam Trautman
TE
42
52%
J.K. Dobbins
RB
36
44%
Evan Engram
TE
35
43%
Nate Adkins
TE
34
42%
RJ Harvey
RB
33
41%
Marvin Mims Jr.
WR
32
40%
Pat Bryant
WR
27
33%
Trent Sherfield
WR
22
27%
Alex Palczewski
T
16
20%
Tyler Badie
RB
8
10%
Adam Prentice
FB
7
9%
Denver Broncos — Defense
Player
Pos
Snaps
Pct
Riley Moss
CB
48
100%
Patrick Surtain II
CB
48
100%
Talanoa Hufanga
S
48
100%
Alex Singleton
LB
48
100%
Brandon Jones
S
48
100%
Ja’Quan McMillian
CB
39
81%
Zach Allen
DL
38
79%
Jonathon Cooper
OLB
29
60%
Nik Bonitto
OLB
29
60%
Justin Strnad
LB
27
56%
John Franklin-Myers
DL
24
50%
Jahdae Barron
CB
21
44%
D.J. Jones
DT
20
42%
Jonah Elliss
OLB
19
40%
Dondrea Tillman
LB
19
40%
Eyioma Uwazurike
DL
17
35%
Sai’vion Jones
DE
6
13%
Cincinnati Bengals — Offense
Player
Pos
Snaps
Pct
Jake Browning
QB
48
100%
Jalen Rivers
G
48
100%
Ted Karras
C
48
100%
Amarius Mims
T
48
100%
Orlando Brown Jr.
T
48
100%
Dylan Fairchild
G
48
100%
Ja’Marr Chase
WR
46
96%
Andrei Iosivas
WR
43
90%
Tee Higgins
WR
40
83%
Chase Brown
HB
35
73%
Mike Gesicki
TE
27
56%
Drew Sample
TE
22
46%
Samaje Perine
HB
15
31%
Mitchell Tinsley
WR
7
15%
Cam Grandy
TE
4
8%
Tanner Hudson
TE
1
2%
Cincinnati Bengals — Defense
Player
Pos
Snaps
Pct
Geno Stone
S
81
100%
Jordan Battle
S
81
100%
DJ Turner II
CB
81
100%
Demetrius Knight Jr.
LB
71
88%
Logan Wilson
LB
65
80%
Daxton Hill
CB
64
79%
Josh Newton
CB
64
79%
B.J. Hill
DT
52
64%
Myles Murphy
DE
52
64%
Trey Hendrickson
DE
49
61%
Tedarrell Slaton
DT
45
56%
Kris Jenkins Jr.
DT
41
51%
Joseph Ossai
DE
40
49%
Oren Burks
LB
26
32%
Cameron Sample
DE
24
30%
Mike Pennel
DT
22
27%
Barrett Carter
LB
20
25%
Cam Taylor-Britt
CB
5
6%
Marco Wilson
CB
3
4%
PFF Grades – Week 4
Denver Broncos
Player
Pos
Snaps
PFF Grade
Alex Singleton
LB
48
86.3
Courtland Sutton
WR
69
86.3
J.K. Dobbins
HB
36
81.2
Marvin Mims Jr.
WR
32
81.4
Brandon Jones
S
48
80.4
Bo Nix
QB
81
79.1
Quinn Meinerz
G
78
78.4
RJ Harvey
HB
33
76.9
Jonah Elliss
ED
19
75.6
Jonathon Cooper
ED
29
75.3
John Franklin-Myers
DI
24
74.6
Initial PFF grades subject to review. Grades sourced from Pro Football Focus / Mile High Sports Week 4 report.
By the Numbers
38 — consecutive games (including playoffs) Denver had gone without a 100-yard rusher before Dobbins’ performance; it was also the first in Sean Payton’s entire tenure as Broncos head coach
326 — Nix’s passing yardage total, a career high at the time; he went 29-of-42 (69%) against a Cincinnati defense that generated zero sacks
512 — Denver’s total yards; Cincinnati’s offense produced 159
8 — punts by the Bengals across their final nine possessions after McPherson’s field goal; the only non-punt was an end-of-half kneel at the Cincinnati 35 with 8 seconds left in the second quarter
8 — Cincinnati’s accepted first-half penalties, the franchise’s most before halftime in at least 15 years (11 total accepted for the game); Denver center Luke Wattenberg drew four accepted flags on his own
23 — receiving yards by Ja’Marr Chase, held by Surtain’s shadow coverage all night
3–1 — Nix’s career primetime record after the win
0 — sacks allowed by Denver’s offensive line across 42 Nix drop-backs
Injury Report
Player
Team
Position
Injury
Status
Charlie Jones
CIN
WR
Right ankle sprain
Left game in 2nd half
Marvin Mims Jr.
DEN
WR
Hip
Played through; was listed questionable
For Denver, the numbers held up everywhere that mattered: zero sacks allowed, 37:58 in time of possession, eight third-down conversions, and Dobbins finally snapping a franchise-level drought at running back. Nix — 3–1 in primetime and coming off back-to-back losses where the Broncos’ offense had sputtered — produced what stood as his career-high passing game through that week of the 2025 season. Sean Payton called it “a step in the right direction.” The box score made the margin hard to argue with.
For Cincinnati, the ledger was harder to sit with. Eleven accepted penalties. Browning completing 56 percent of his passes for 125 yards with no path to the end zone after the first quarter. Chase finishing at 23 receiving yards against a defense that assigned its best corner to him from the first snap and never wavered. The Bengals had dropped 48–10 at Minnesota the week before. Monday night in Denver was 28–3. “On offense we’re all part of the problem,” Browning said, “and we all need to be a part of the solution.”
Stats sourced from Pro Football Reference, ESPN, Pro Football Focus, and the Associated Press. Game played September 29, 2025.
Cornelia Lindqvist is a Swedish-American sports journalist with 4 years of experience covering professional athletics. She previously worked at Sports Illustrated before joining Newzire. Cornelia reports on the NFL, NBA, MLB, WNBA, international football, and cricket, covering game results, roster moves, trade deals, playoff standings, and player statistics. Her sports analysis background helps readers understand the strategies and numbers behind wins and losses.
