Monday Night Football Week 16: TV Schedule, Live Stream for Bengals vs. Broncos

You would have to be pretty greedy to ask for a better late-December Monday Night Football matchup than the one wrapping up Week 16. Fans will be treated to a duel between two of the AFC's top teams when the Denver Broncos play host to the Cincinnati Bengals. 

The Bengals currently hold the AFC's No. 2 playoff seed and will be looking to go level with the top-seeded New England Patriots with a win on Monday.

The Broncos, looking to snap a two-game losing streak, are in a much more precarious position heading into their final two games. In the dream scenario, they usurp the Bengals for the No. 2 seed, thereby earning a coveted first-round playoff bye. In the nightmare scenario, they could miss the playoffs entirely.

It's a contest you won't want to miss, whether you're a fan of the two squads, wondering how the game might affect the AFC playoff picture, a nervous fantasy football owner in a championship match or simply a just fan of the game. Here's the TV and live stream info for Bengals-Broncos. 

Monday Night Football Week 16 Viewing Info

When: December 28 at 8:30 p.m. ET

Where: Sports Authority Field at Mile High in Denver, Colorado

TV: ESPN

Live Stream: WatchESPN

Tickets: ScoreBig.com

Game Preview

The similarities between these two teams are rather striking, beyond even the obvious things like their excellent records and orange uniforms. Both squads will trot out backup quarterbacks in this game.

For the Bengals, it's AJ McCarron, who has thrown for 472 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions in two starts replacing injured starter Andy Dalton. What he lacks in stats he might make up for with confidence, as noted by Bleacher Report NFL Insider Jason Cole: 

The Broncos have Brock Osweiler, the lanky slinger who has passed for eight touchdowns and four interceptions but struggled at times to keep the offense moving. His play is still an upgrade over Peyton Manning, who tossed nearly twice as many interceptions as touchdowns before a Week 10 benching and lingering injuries stuck him on the bench. 

A defensive struggle is in the making here with two inexperienced quarterbacks leading the way. The Bengals are giving up a league-low 17.4 points per game, while the Broncos have allowed a mere 18.5 points per game and the fewest yards per game (279.9).

“That’s one of the most exciting things, to me, is going up against another top-tier defense in this atmosphere and in this league,” Bengals defensive end Wallace Gilberry said, per Cincinnati.com's Jim Owczarski.

The Denver defense is certainly deserving of a reputation as one of, if not the best units in the league, but they are coming off a dreadful performance against a high-powered Pittsburgh attack in Week 15. The Steelers racked up 34 points, 28 first downs and 377 yards of total offense in that win.

Fred Vuich/Associated Press

The off game could give the Bengals a bit of confidence Monday, but they aren't necessarily equipped to take advantage. For starters, McCarron is not nearly the quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is, although he could turn out to be a fine signal-caller in his own right. Tight end Tyler Eifert, a key red-zone target, won't be available due to injury.

As good as wide receiver A.J. Green is, his game isn't quite as sublime as that of Steelers wideout Antonio Brown, nor does he have a receiver as talented as Martavis Bryant to keep secondaries from concentrating their efforts on him. Of course, it might not take more than Broncos corner Chris Harris Jr. to stifle Green. Per Pro Football Focus, Harris' poor game against Brown was an anomalous display: 

Aqib Talib isn't too shabby at corner either, should he draw Green in this contest.

Giovani Bernard and Jeremy Hill have been mixed bags over the past month or so, and Denver could very well shut both of them down on the ground. Steelers running back DeAngelo Williams, enjoying a fine season at 32 years old, could only muster 26 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries against the Broncos. 

Speaking of committee backfields, the Broncos will also be hoping either one of Ronnie Hillman or C.J. Anderson emerges as a reliable runner against the Bengals. The two backs have combined for just 124 rushing yards on 37 carries the past two weeks. Anderson did have a big game against New England in Week 13; he could be the back to hit hard between the tackles and allow Osweiler to set up play-action passes and rollouts. 

Don Wright/Associated Press

Escaping and/or neutralizing the pass rush is a key to this game. The Bengals will let loose Carlos Dunlap from the edge while Geno Atkins plows his way through the middle. The two have combined for 20.5 sacks this season and are fully fit for Monday. A strong pass rush that keeps the Broncos off the field early would go a long way toward helping Cincy in this one. Per ESPN.com's Coley Harvey, Osweiler struggles in the second half:

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Per Stats & Information, Osweiler's completion percentage dips from 73.4 percent going into halftime, to 50 percent over the final two quarters and overtime this season. His first-half Total QBR has been 82.5 (ranks second among qualifying quarterbacks), but his second-half Total QBR plummets to 19.1 (ranks 36th). Clearly, he isn't the same player following the intermission. 

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Bengals corner Adam Jones believes another key to this game is preventing the big play, per Owczarski:

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It is one of those games, but we’ve got to play good and just don’t allow the deep ball. If we do that, we’ll win the game. We’ve got to give the guys up front time to rush. We’ve got a good group here. I know they got a good group, but we’ve got a good group here. We’ve been showing that all year, and this is the time we need to show it.

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Osweiler has a strong arm which could prove dangerous if given time to set up. Wide receivers Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders are in no way a welcoming sight for opposing defenses.

Denver features its own terrifying twosome in Von Miller and DeMarcus Ware, but the latter has been hobbled by injury and didn't register a stat in the Broncos' last two outings. Defensive end Malik Jackson has done well to alleviate Ware's absence and lack of production. The defensive end has five sacks on the season and is excellent at batting down passes at the line of scrimmage.

Bleacher Report NFL Analyst Chris Simms singled him out as one of the league's "hidden truths" in the video below: 

Getting pressure on McCarron will be huge. He will be without a fine intermediate-route option in Eifert and will need time to find Green or big-play threat Marvin Jones downfield. 

Considering the Bengals' well-documented playoff failures, capturing a first-round bye and potentially home-field advantage would go a long way toward alleviating the fears of fans who are all too aware of head coach Marvin Lewis' 0-6 playoff record.

The Broncos have a 91 percent chance of making the playoffs, per the New York Times' playoff simulator, but the fact that it's not yet a guarantee should serve as excellent motivation for this contest.