Broncos at Bengals
The reigning Super Bowl champion Denver Broncos look to remain among the NFL's unbeaten when they visit the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday. Denver enters Week 3 as one of eight teams to begin the season with two victories, but the number of undefeated clubs decreased by one as Houston fell to New England on Thursday night.
While Trevor Siemian hasn't made Broncos fans forget Peyton Manning in his first year under center, the team's defense has been stellar, yielding an average of 293 yards per game while tying Seattle for the first in the league with 4.4 allowed per play. Von Miller has been a major contributor to those numbers as he leads the NFL with four sacks, including three - and a forced fumble - in last week's victory over Indianapolis en route to being named the AFC Defensive Player of the Week. Cincinnati will be playing its first game at home after opening the season with a road victory over the New York Jets and a loss at Pittsburgh. The Bengals will be relying on their offense, which is averaging 396.5 yards per game, and Andy Dalton, who leads the league with 732 passing yards.
TV: 1 p.m. ET, CBS. LINE: Bengals -3.5. O/U: 41
ABOUT THE BRONCOS (2-0): Denver's suffocating defense suffered a big loss as DeMarcus Ware will miss Sunday's contest after undergoing surgery to have plates inserted in the broken forearm he suffered against the Colts last week. The outside linebacker is expected to miss four-to-six weeks, but defensive coordinator Wade Phillips told reporters he hopes to have Ware back for the Broncos' game at Tampa Bay next week. Cornerback Aqib Talib has returned nine interceptions for touchdowns in his career, which has him tied for fourth place on the NFL's all-time list.
ABOUT THE BENGALS (1-1): Cincinnati will need to shore up against the run as it enters the contest last in the league with an average of 138 rushing yards allowed, although it has yet to surrender a touchdown on the ground. Giovani Bernard was Dalton's favorite target last week, making a career-high nine catches out of the backfield while recording his second 100-yard receiving performance in the NFL. Tight end Tyler Eifert, who has yet to play this season due to an ankle injury, participated in practice on a limited basis Wednesday but likely will miss the game against Denver.
EXTRA POINTS
1. The Broncos have won five of the last six meetings, including a 20-17 overtime victory at home on Dec. 28.
2. Cincinnati entered Week 3 leading the NFL with 13 passes of 20 or more yards.
3. Denver signed NT Kyle Peko to the practice squad and waived S Ryan Murphy.