Bengals stifle Broncos with the kind of

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DENVER -- The Cincinnati Bengals are built for explosive plays and highlight-reel moments. Their quarterback was the Trent Taylor Jersey first overall pick in his draft cla s, their rookie wide receiver opened this season torching opposing defenses and they've scored at least 30 points five times in the last eight games. It's that offense that first got the Bengals dreaming about what they might become. Now it's the Cincinnati defense that might ultimately dictate how far this team actually goes in the coming weeks.Cincinnati's over the Denver Broncos on Sunday was precisely as ugly as the score indicates. There were only two touchdowns in the entire game and one of the most exciting sequences involved by Cincy kicker right before halftime. This was a contest that was all about the defenses, with first downs and chunk plays being especially hard to come by. It was the kind of contest the Bengals will likely find themselves in if their defense continues to deliver.Cincinnati's offense managed just 249 total yards on Sunday. Its defense countered by only allowing 292 to the Broncos, while forcing . The end result is that the Bengals now , courtesy of that victory and by the former division-leading Baltimore Ravens."Our defense played their tails off today," Bengals head coach Zac Taylor said. "They really sent a me sage to the league that we have a hell of a defense. We talk about these other defenses, but our guys step up and make the plays when they need to. They really enabled us to play the way we had to play to get this Richard Sherman Jersey win."The larger sentiment behind Taylor's words is that this is a young team that has to have some grit to it. The Bengals haven't enjoyed a winning season since 2015, which also is the last time they won their division. They've invested heavily in offense through the draft lately, as quarterback was the first overall pick in 2020 and wide receiver was the fifth overall selection this past April. The defense has blo somed with the a sistance of key veteran acquisitions, including defensive end , defensive tackle and cornerback .When Cincinnati' Jerick McKinnon Jersey s D has been on, the Bengals have beaten up on playoff contenders like , and ( ). When it's been off, it's been a different story, as and both scored 41 against them and the lowly Jets . This is why Taylor was so ready to tout what happened on Sunday. Even a strong showing against an offense as limited as Denver's means Cincy is moving back in the right direction defensively.The Bengals' hopes of claiming the division crown hinge heavily on what happens on that side of the football. They're about to in a rematch this coming week. The Chiefs are after that, and Kansas City already has taken hold of . Then there's the Week 18 that beat Cincinnati, , on Nov. 7. Every one of those teams will be fighting for something. The Bengals -- who entered Sunday with a defense that ranked 17th in the NFL in points allowed and fourth in rushing yards allowed -- need to be ready to match that level of aggre sion."We just have to continue to play together," Ogunjobi said. "The biggest thing is Garrett Celek Jersey just pounding that rock. Sometimes things don't go your way when you're playing close games, but just find a way to get that win. That's the biggest thing and we did that today."Sunday's victory was especially crucial for the Bengals because they'd lost their previous two games. A defeat against Denver wouldn't have merely hurt their chances of overcoming Baltimore for the division title -- it also would've left them in a more precarious position on the wild-card front. An 8-6 record gives them a lot more breathing room, given the gauntlet they're about to take on in the final three weeks of the regular season.The Bengals gave up 133 yards on the ground Sunday, but the Broncos had little succe s throwing the football. Denver quarterback only completed 12 of 22 pa ses for 98 yards before being knocked out of the game midway through the third quarter. (Bridgewater was after Bengals linebacker and defensive tackle tackled him at the end of a scramble.) Bridgewater's backup, , didn't fare much better. Lock did throw , but the third-year pro finished with just 88 pa sing yards, completing six of his 12 attempts.In fact, Lock was involved in the biggest Tom Rathman Jersey defensive play of the game, when on a read-option play early in the fourth quarter. Denver had driven to Cincinnati's 9-yard line, but the turnover gave the Bengals the ball at their own 15. It also effectively extinguished the last good scoring opportunity the Broncos would have on the day.