Broncos beat Bengals to clinch playoff spot

Instead, Denver remains in first place in the division and gets bumped up to the No. 2 while the Chiefs maintain the fifth seed.

And, with a ferociously sudden finality, that was that for the Bengals.

Sunday, the Broncos play host to the Chargers and the Chiefs are at home against the Raiders. I’d guess the likely Bengals’ hosting job could be Sunday early, with the NFC games late Saturday and late Sunday.

McManus’ miss from 45 yards at the end of regulation sent the game into the extra session.

“I was just thinking to myself: I’m 24 years old, and I don’t think I’ve ever kicked the ball like that in my life – in grade school, or elementary school or anything, McManus said”. That’s the time between now and the divisional playoff weekend-assuming the Patriots get a first-round bye.

Denver Broncos outside linebacker DeMarcus Ware, right, lies on his fumble recovery for the win after an NFL football game against the Cincinnati Bengals, Monday, Dec. 28, 2015, in Denver.

Kubiak said Ward was “sore” on Tuesday, but that he “took a step back in the right direction” with how he came through the game. “We had runs in the first half; they came back in the second half and had a little better run than us”.

Trailing by 11, the Broncos aired it out to open the third quarter, marching 81 yards largely on the strength of Osweiler’s passing arm. He fumbled a shotgun snap in overtime, sealing it. Field goals are critical to teams down the stretch and in the playoffs and a 45-yard miss isn’t something the Bengals can afford to happen again.

The Broncos sleepwalked through the first half, controlling the ball for only eight of the first 30 minutes, gaining only 80 yards of offence. Sanders had a 35-yard reception to the Bengals’ 21, but the drive stalled after a second-down sack of Osweiler by defensive end Carlos Dunlap, leading to the field goal.

So now that Denver’s overtime victory over Cincinnati is in the books, what does it mean?

The Bengals threw incomplete on first down on their first overtime possession. Kubiak may want to trust his gut and stick with Osweiler, but both Manning and John Elway, the guy who hand-picked Manning to win the Broncos a Super Bowl, are looming larger.

Broncos quarterback Brock Osweiler completed 27 of 39 passes for 299 yards and a touchdown, while C.J. Anderson had 73 rushing yards.

Denver outgained Cincinnati by almost 100 yards, 390-294, and held the Bengals to 3.3 yards per carry. Of course, Pittsburgh could have avoided all this by simply beating Baltimore last Sunday… something the Belichick-deliberately-lost-to-the-Jets-to-screw-the-Steelers crowd (oh yes, they’re out there) conveniently ignores.

As for the Broncos, they showed the football world that their defensive front is still as ferocious as it’s been all season and will be a formidable opponent for any offensive line, certainly for the Patriots’ incredibly injured and shallow group.

The NFL season is down to the final week and in the AFC, the playoff picture is still pretty fluid.

After viewing MRI results, the Bengals believe McCarron will be able to start in Week 17. Allen is averaging just 3.7 yards per carry, but he has proven to be a dual threat, though, catching 31 passes and two touchdowns out of the backfield.