Bengals vs. Broncos: Score and Twitter Reaction for Monday Night Football

The Denver Broncos clinched a playoff spot and moved into second place in the AFC following a 20-17 overtime win over the Cincinnati Bengals on Monday night at Sports Authority Field.

Brandon McManus had a chance to win the game in regulation, but his 45-yard field-goal attempt sailed wide left, failing to even hit the safety net behind the uprights. ESPN's Robert Flores was shocked at how much McManus missed the mark:

Broncos general manager John Elway was none too pleased while watching the game from his luxury box, per Vice Sports' Mike Tunison:

McManus had a chance at redemption and delivered with a 37-yard field goal in OT.

Denver sealed the victory when AJ McCarron fumbled a snap, and DeMarcus Ware recovered for the Broncos. Coincidentally, the play came directly after a contentious video review showing McCarron threw an incomplete pass, which some viewed as a fumble.

Instead, the game continued, albeit for only one more play.

Brock Osweiler deserves credit for marching the Broncos down the field twice late in the game—the first of which led to McManus' miss and the second setting up the eventual game-winning score. Osweiler finished 27-of-39 for 299 yards and a touchdown.

C.J. Anderson had success on the ground, rushing for 73 yards and a score on nine carries.

For the Bengals, Monday's defeat is further evidence they should avoid prime-time games at all costs, per SportsPickle:

McCarron didn't perform all that badly, throwing for 200 yards and a TD on 22-of-35 passing. He looked his most comfortable under center Monday since taking over at quarterback for an injured Andy Dalton. 

In particular, he wasn't fazed in the first half, despite facing off against one of the best defenses in the league in less-than-ideal conditions. As a result, the Bengals jumped ahead 14-0 in the second quarter and took a 14-3 into the half.

McCarron found A.J. Green for a five-yard touchdown pass with 7:26 seconds left in the first quarter, and Mohamed Sanu provided Cincinnati's second score on a designed run from six yards out. The NFL provided the highlight on Twitter:

The MMQB's Peter King was impressed by McCarron's poise under center and praised the work of the Bengals' coaching staff:

Mike Klis of 9News wasn't too surprised by the former Alabama quarterback, given his college experience:

McManus got the Broncos on the board with a 23-yard field goal with 14 seconds remaining in the first half. The Bengals defense deserves a lot of credit for pressuring Osweiler and also limiting Denver on the ground, but as the Denver Post's Troy Renck noted, the Broncos were already dealing with a number of offensive issues before Monday night:

The Denver offense awoke from its home slumber on its first possession of the third quarter. Osweiler led the team on an 11-play, 4:46 drive, hitting Emmanuel Sanders on an eight-yard touchdown pass to help pull the Broncos to within four, 14-10. According to Renck, the play snapped a streak of 23 second-half possessions without a TD.

ESPN's Pylon Cam (via SportsCenter) provided a great look at Sanders crossing the goal line:

The Broncos defense then stepped up in a big way, forcing the Bengals to punt on their first four second-half possessions—a stretch that also included three three-and-outs. One big play was all that separated Denver from the lead, and Anderson delivered just that at the 11:17 mark of the fourth quarter.

The running back was nearly stopped in the backfield, but bounced to the left and broke numerous tackles en route to the end zone. Here's the video courtesy of the NFL:

Mike Nugent leveled the game up with a 52-yard field goal with a little under six minutes remaining, but the Bengals offense stalled from that point forward. Cincinnati failed to capitalize on an Anderson fumble, allowing McManus to eventually win the game.

NFL Media's Ian Rapoport (via NFL.com's Chris Wesseling) reported on NFL Total Access that Dalton will miss Cincinnati's regular-season finale and is a major doubt for the Wild Card Round.

Although McCarron looked good in the first half, he fell back to earth in the second. The thought of an opening-round matchup with one of the New York Jets, Pittsburgh Steelers or Kansas City Chiefs and McCarron under center must be terrifying for fans of the team.

As good as Cincinnati is across the board, the team will only go as far as its quarterback can take it. The franchise's chances of picking up its first playoff win since the 1990 season aren't looking good, unless Dalton makes a quicker return to the field than expected.

The Broncos still have a little work to do in order to win the AFC West, but they're at least in the driver's seat in the division.

Before the season, the idea Denver could still make the playoffs despite Peyton Manning only playing nine games would've been crazy. But Osweiler has filled in well for the legendary QB, doing just enough and letting his defense take over.

Like the Bengals, the Broncos still have some questions regarding their quarterback, but you'd at least trust him to win big games in the playoffs, which can't be said of McCarron at this point.

Postgame Reaction

No matter what he does on the field, Osweiler won't be able to escape Manning's shadow until No. 18 retires or leaves Denver. After Monday's game, the former second-round pick downplayed that storyline.

"This isn't about Peyton. This isn't about myself," Osweiler said, per NFL Network. "This is about this football team."

"My message after the game: 'That was one hell of a second half of football!'" said Broncos head coach Gary Kubiak, per the Broncos' Twitter feed. "Getting in the playoffs in the NFL is a hell of an accomplishment."

Not only did McCarron's fumble prove costly for the Bengals, it could have long-term consequences for the team, per Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com:

The possibility of starting McCarron in the playoffs is bad enough for Cincinnati. If the team is instead forced to either rely on Keith Wenning or rush Dalton back before he's ready, that would all but signal the end of the franchise's Super Bowl hopes.