Denver Broncos

Broncos at Bengals live stream: How to watch online

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

foxsports

Defenses should dominate when the Cincinnati Bengals host the Denver Broncos at Paul Brown Stadium in Week 3.

The Bengals will welcome the defending Super Bowl champions this Sunday. Cincinnati will try to rebound from last week’s defeat to divisional rival the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Staying in touch in the AFC playoff race will mean shutting down Denver’s zone-based running game. It will also demand keeping quarterback Andy Dalton protected against a ferocious pass rush.

Von Miller leads the Broncos pressure defense. Creative and ultra-aggressive coordinator Wade Phillips moves Miller around, but his overall remit is simple. It’s to apply maximum heat on the pocket.

Dalton has thrown for 366 yards in each of his first two games. So Phillips will know the importance of making him uncomfortable on every dropback.

Dalton’s put up those numbers without big play tight end Tyler Eifert in the lineup. But the Bengals may have found another safety valve for the Red Rifle.

Rookie wideout Tyler Boyd has eight receptions for 102 yards through two weeks. He’s shown a good understanding of where the soft spots are in zone shells. Boyd also knows how to separate quickly out of his break.

But the latter skill may not show up against a Denver secondary very adept in press and off-man coverage.

Dalton’s response to those looks should be to isolate Giovani Bernard against linebackers the way he did in Pittsburgh. Bernard caught nine passes for 100 yards and a touchdown against the Steelers. He still looks like Cincy’s best match-up advantage this week.

The Bengals’ own linebackers need to be focused on stopping C.J. Anderson. Denver is employing more of the stretch runs head coach Gary Kubiak and offensive coordinator Rick Dennison love. Anderson has responded with 166 yards at 4.2 yards a carry, per the league’s official site.

It will be up to D-tackles Domata Peko and Geno Atkins to keep blockers off linebackers at the second level. Then Vincent Rey, Karlos Dansby and Rey Maualuga can run to the ball and keep Anderson under wraps.

Young quarterback Trevor Siemian won’t be able to absorb Cincinnati’s pressure if his offense becomes one-dimensional.

TV: CBS
Time: 1:00 p.m. ET
Online: NFL Sunday Ticket MAX (subscription required)
Mobile: Verizon NFL Mobile (subscription required)

The Bengals were out of sorts offensively in Week 2, while their defense didn’t make plays when it mattered. But the Cincy D’ can rebound against the Broncos and their inexperienced signal-caller.