Denver Broncos 10 at Cincinnati Bengals 23

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Denver Broncos

The Broncos went 3 and out on their first two drives of the game.
They were forced to punt on 5 of their 12 drives. Couple that with
three critical turnovers and Denver got into a hole from which they
could not come back.

Reuben Droughns continued his ascent as the primary running back for
the Broncos with his 24 rushes for 110 yards.  Droughns broke off
large chunks of ground at a time as 14 of his carries were for 5 yards
or more.  He did have a 31-yard rush brought back with a holding
penalty.  Droughns lost a fumble late in the first half, the first
fumble of his career.

Rod Smith and Ashley Lelie split targets from Jake Plummer.  Smith
turned his 11 targets into 5 receptions for 50 yards and scored the
only touchdown for Denver with a 3-yard reception.  Lelie made 6
receptions for 82 yards on his 12 targets.

The Broncos did capitalize on a Champ Bailey interception with Rod
Smith's 3-yard touchdown reception.

As reported, Quentin Griffin has been lost for the season with a torn
ACL.  He was limited in his usage to just returns before suffering the
injury.

Cincinnati Bengals

The atmosphere was electric in the first Monday night game that the
Cincinnati Bengals hosted since 1989.

Chad Johnson put his poor outing behind last week behind him and made
two 50-yard receptions during the first half.  He scored a touchdown
on the first one after Champ Bailey fell down and Johnson found
himself wide open.  He beat Bailey again for his second 50-yard
reception to the 11-yard line.  Johnson was clearly the favorite
target of Carson Palmer and received 11 targets in comparison to the
11 targets that the rest of his teammates received.  And Johnson
accounted for 149 of Palmer's 198 passing yards.  All of the other
Bengals' receivers seemed to be simply afterthoughts.

Rudi Johnson was held in check until the end of the third quarter when
he scored a 36-yard touchdown run.  He finished the game with 24
rushes for 119 yards.  49 of those yards were in the fourth quarter
when the Bengals were effectively managing the clock.

Defensively the Bengals came up with some big plays that were key to
their victory.  Jake Plummer was intercepted twice and Reuben
Droughns' fumble was recovered.  The Bengals capitalized on all three
turnovers with field goals.  And late in the game, they sacked Jake
Plummer twice in a row, putting the game away.

WHAT YOU OUGHT TO KNOW

Denver Broncos

QB:  Jake Plummer (23-40-221, 1 TD, 2 Int, 1-3 rushing) Plummer posted
221 yards and a TD, but his 2 interceptions were critical in this
loss.  He was intercepted by Deltha O'Neal in the 2nd quarter and then
in the 4th by Tory James.  Plummer connected with Rod Smith for a
touchdown pass.  To start the second half, he had 2 passes in a row
tipped and the Broncos were forced to punt.  Plummer keyed in on
Ashley Lelie during the third quarter and three of his 4 completed
passes were thrown to him during their field goal scoring drive.

RB:  Reuben Droughns (24-110 rushing, 4-20 receiving on 5 targets, 1
fumble lost) Droughns opened with a 3-yard carry; but he was stopped
for a loss on his next carry.  He started to run really well near the
end of the first quarter, and gained good yardage on most of his
carries.  It was not uncommon for him to break off rushes of 5 and 6
yards on a carry.  And he finished with a 4.6 YPC average.  He had a
31-yard run brought back on a holding call.  He also fumbled late in
the half, after trying to spin to gain yardage.  It was his first
career fumble.

Quentin Griffin contributed on kick off returns, but he was not used
in any offensive schemes.  He left the game at the beginning of the
second half with a right knee sprain and was seen going to the locker
room.  It has been reported that he has a torn ACL and is out for the
season.

WR:  Rod Smith (5-50, 1 TD receiving on 11 targets) Smith made a
15-yard reception on third down to gain the first 1st down for the
Broncos near the end of the first quarter.  In the 2nd quarter he made
a great 3-yard touchdown reception in coverage.  He was the intended
receiver on Plummer's second interception.

Ashley Lelie (6-82 receiving on 12 targets) Lelie made a 7-yard
reception during the opening drive for the Broncos but it was not
enough to gain a first down.  Lelie caught an underthrown pass to gain
42-yards in the first quarter.  It was challenged by the Bengals and
overturned as he did not have control of the ball.  Lelie was targeted
deep in the end zone, but the pass was overthrown.  Lelie was the
intended receiver on Deltha O'Neal's interception.  In the third
quarter he made a reception over the middle and was able to gain
yardage for 35 yards.

Darius Watts (4-36 receiving on 5 targets, 1-10 rushing) Watts gained
10 yards on an end around carry.  Watts made a 19-yard reception and
15 yards was added to it with a defensive personal foul penalty.  It
was a pivotal play that led to the Broncos' first half touchdown.
Watts was targeted deep in the 3rd quarter, but was covered by Deltha
O'Neal.  Watts made an 8-yard screen catch; he fumbled the ball, but
was out of bounds so Denver maintained possession.

Nate Jackson (4-33 receiving on 5 targets) Second year wide receiver
Jackson was not looked to until the 4th quarter.  His first reception
was for 6 yards.  On the next drive, and the Broncos' last drive of
the game, he made four consecutive receptions for 11 yards, and three
for 8 yards.  The fourth 8-yard reception was brought back with an
illegal use of hands penalty.

TE:  Jeb Putzier (0-0 receiving on 1 target) Putzier's first and only
target of the game was deflected at the line of scrimmage.

K:  Jason Elam (1-1 XP, 1-2 FG) Elam missed a 49-yard field goal
attempt.  He was later able to make a 29-yard attempt.

Pass Defense:  Champ Bailey covered Chad Johnson, and it was his
stumble that allowed Johnson to get wide open and score his touchdown.
The two battled all evening.  And though Bailey did make his
interception on a pass intended for Johnson, Johnson was the clear
victor with his two 50-yard receptions.

Rush Defense:  Carson Palmer was sacked only once.  The Broncos were
able to hold Rudi Johnson in check until late in the third quarter
when he rushed for 36 yards to score his touchdown.

Cincinnati Bengals

QB:  Carson Palmer (12-21-198, 1 TD, 1 Int, 4-0 rushing) Palmer looked
more confident than he has recently.  Over half of his passing yards
came on two plays, both 50-yard passes to Chad Johnson.  He connected
with Chad Johnson during the second drive of the game for a 50-yard
touchdown pass.  Palmer's interception by Champ Bailey was intended
for Chad Johnson, immediately following his second 50-yard pass to
Johnson.  Palmer underthrew Kenny Watson in the fourth quarter.

RB:  Rudi Johnson (24-119, 1 TD rushing) Johnson broke tackles and
gained 12 yards on his second carry of the game.  Near the end of the
first quarter, the Bengals went for it on 4th and 1 at the Denver 5
yard line, Johnson was stopped for no gain on his carry.  Johnson's
longest run of the game was his 36-yard touchdown run in the third
quarter.  The very next drive Johnson broke out of traffic and made a
17-yard run.  Johnson was held in check by the Broncos until his
touchdown run.  47 of his yards came in the fourth quarter and he was
used to effectively run down the clock.

Kenny Watson (4-22 rushing, 2-6 receiving on 4 targets) Watson was
used sparingly in the game.  Watson's longest rush of 11-yards was
near the end of the game.

WR:  Chad Johnson (7-149, 1 TD receiving on 11 targets) Johnson was
clearly Palmer's favorite target.  He made the first play of the game
with a 9-yard reception.  During the opening drive, Johnson dropped a
deep pass.  But he made up for it during the next drive.  Johnson was
wide open after Champ Bailey fell down and made an easy 50 yard
touchdown reception.  Chad Johnson beat Bailey again in the 2nd
quarter and made another 50-yard reception, this time to the 11-yard
line.  Johnson made an amazing 23-yard grab which he bobbled but was
able to pull in.  At half time it was reported that he had suffered a
knee contusion, but still played.

T.J. Houshmandzadeh (1-13 receiving on 3 targets) Houshmandzadeh was
targeted deep during in the first quarter; he was unable to make the
reception but drew a defensive pass interference call.  He made a
13-yard reception during the last drive of the first half.  His first
target in the second half was knocked down by D.J. Williams.
Houshmandzadeh made a key block on Rudi Johnson's touchdown run.

Kelley Washington (1-16 receiving on 3 targets) Washington made a
16-yard catch late in the first half.  Washington was targeted in the
end zone during that same drive, but the ball was tipped away.  He
left the game with a sprained left ankle.

Cliff Russell (1 for -8 rushing) Carried the ball on an end around,
but he was tackled for a loss.

Peter Warrick (0-0 receiving on 1 target) Though questionable going
into the game, Warrick did play.  He was targeted once deep in the
fourth quarter.

TE:  Reggie Kelly (1-14 receiving on 1 target) Kelly made a 14-yard
reception late in the third quarter.

K:  Shayne Graham (2-2 XP, 3-3 FG) Graham made field goals of 53, 34,
and 35 yards.

Pass Defense:  Deltha O'Neal and Tory James both intercepted Jake
Plummer.  Plummer was sacked three times; twice in a row late in the
fourth quarter, ending any comeback attempt.

Rush Defense:  The Bengals came into this game as one of the poorer
rush defenses in the league.  They were tighter than they have been in
the past but still gave up a total of 123 rushing yards.  Madieu
Williams recovered Reuben Droughns' fumble.  Defensive tackle Tony
Williams has been lost for the season after suffering a knee injury.