BroncoBlue's Week 1 Breakdown
Denver Broncos @ Cincinnati Bengals
Broncos Rushing D < Bengals Rushing O
-Both suspect even with new additions. I'm not sold on either, but Bengals have Cedric Benson who I think will do well this season. Denver has a new system and D coordinator that should run it well. Close but going with the Bengals having a slight edge in this one, not by much though.
Broncos Pass Rush > Bengals Pass Protection
-Cincy's O-line is still worthless and Denver looks to have a better pass rush then last year, which isn't saying a lot. Doesn't matter Bangles won't stop Dumerville (contract year) from getting to the QB.
Broncos Secondary > Bengals Passing Attack
-Both sides of the ball are littered with top notch talent here and if it wasn't for the crappy Bengals O-Line I would give it to them, but Denver's strength on D is their secondary with Bailey and Dawkins! Palmer is coming back from injury and Denver will force him into mistake with the pass rush.
Overall Broncos Defense > Overall Bengals Offense
-On paper Cincy should run away with this but this is the first game of the season, which IMO works against the Bangles. If this game was played in the middle of the season I'd probably be inclined to pick Cincy's O over Denver's D, but it's not. The Bengals are weak at a pivotal point, the O-line and like I said earlier Palmer's coming back from injury and was hampered by injury in the preseason, there will be rust! This is were the game will be won and Denver won't completely shut down Cincy's O, but it will make stops when it needs to and "Bend but not Break" more often then not.
Broncos Rushing O > Bengals Rush D
-To be honest I don't know much about the Bengals front seven other Rey Rey, but he's a rookie and it'll take a while for him to be a game changer, so I don't put much stock in him. The addition of Safety Roy Williams should if anything help our the Bengals here. However Denver has great offensive line, FB, and a stable of capable RB's. With a banged up QB look for the Broncos to be effective at running the ball early and often.
Broncos Pass Protection > Bengals Pass Rush
-I can't say enough about how good Denver's O-line is going to be this year, especially in pass protection. The Broncos only gave up a hand full of sacks last year and haven't lost anyone. The Bengals really have no star player in the pass rush so IMO Denver wins this battle with no contest. Wouldn't be surprised if the Broncos don't give a sack all day. This is the first major victory of this match up by either team.
Broncos Passing Attack = Bengals Secondary
-At first glance you would think the Broncos should run away with this, but if you look deeper you will see the Broncos have a banged up QB that makes poor decisions. And everyone knows the QB position is the most important on the field. Even with all those solid WR's Denver will struggle to throw the ball.
Broncos Offense = Bengals Defense
-Broncos won't be able to get a passing game going, so they will have to re-lie on the rushing attack. The Bengals won't be able to stop the Denver run but will limit big plays and force Denver to settle for field goals rather then touchdowns.
Final Prediction:
-Broncos will be able to capitalize on turnover that their defense will force the Bengals offense into. Broncos will struggle on offense early, but will find a rhythm in the running game. The Bengals will put up numbers between the 20's, but won't be able to limit mistakes in the red zone. The Bengals D like the Broncos will "bend but not break" for the most part, but won't be able to overcome mistakes made by the offense. Broncos steal a close one on the road.
Denver Broncos 23
Cincinnati Bengals 17
