After Brock Osweiler airmailed Demaryius Thomas on a third-quarter streak route down the left side Monday night, overthrowing him by the length of a first down, Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfict ran up to the Broncos quarterback.
Burfict patted Osweiler on the butt — and with some force. It was a sarcastic “nice throw” to the guy playing in place of Peyton Manning. Because the Bengals know backups. Their own No. 1 quarterback, Andy Dalton, is out with a broken thumb on his right hand.
BESTS/WORSTS:
In a battle of backups, Osweiler got the better of AJ McCarron in the Broncos’ overtime victory. Osweiler completed 27-of-39 passes for 299 yards and made huge plays at the end of regulation and overtime.
McCarron, the guy previously best known for getting out of the way of Alabama’s run to a national championship in 2012, is now in charge of guiding the Bengals. And it was McCarron who fumbled a shotgun snap in overtime that handed Denver the victory in overtime.
“It was my fault. I told the team that,” McCarron said about his fumble.
BOXSCORE:
He looked up to see how the Broncos defense shifted, McCarron said, and the snap caught him by surprise. “I felt like I let the team down.”
It was Cincinnati’s only turnover on a night when it blew through the Denver defense for touchdowns on its first two drives.
“It was a big enough challenge to come here,” McCarron said. “This Denver defense is ranked No. 1 in every category.”
The quarterback battle, and the Broncos’ victory, went a long way toward setting up playoff seedings. Denver is in and can clinch no worse than a No. 2 seed with a victory at home over San Diego on Sunday. Cincinnati lost a chance at guaranteeing a first-round bye.
But the game did nothing to suggest a trip through the playoffs will be smooth.
Nobody will mistake Osweiler or McCarron for Tom Brady, who won a Super Bowl in 2001 as the Patriots backup replacing Drew Bledsoe. But both shone well in spots.
PHOTOS:
McCarron was on fire in the first half, making big play after big play. He gained 119 yards before intermission on 12-of-17 passing, including a sweet five-yard, jump-ball fade to A.J. Green in the right corner of the end zone in the first quarter for a 7-0 lead.
Green proved to be McCarron’s best friend. He caught five passes for 57 yards, but all came in the first half.
“He played great,” Green said of McCarron. “We just didn’t come out with a win.”
McCarron, too, had the benefit of one of the best offensive lines in the NFL, a front unit that regularly pushed its way into Denver’s secondary.
Osweiler, who has no such O-line boost, finally got going in the second half, when he directed an 11-play, 81-yard drive capped with an 8-yard TD pass to Emmanuel Sanders — the Broncos’ first second-half touchdown in December. As well as McCarron played in the first half, Osweiler matched him in the second half and overtime.
“They did what they had to do to get points on the board — and when it counted,” said Bengals defensive end Carlos Dunlap.
Bengals cornerback Adam Jones was impressed with the Broncos. “They’re gonna go on a run. It’s not like they’re a slouch team. We have to take this one on the shoulder and suck it up.”
The Broncos and Bengals are 11-4, but Denver owns the tiebreaker. And, after Brady’s Patriots (12-3) fell in overtime Sunday to the middling Jets, the route to the top of the AFC flew wide open.
Even the backups have a chance to reach the Super Bowl.
Nick Groke: ngroke@denverpost.com or @nickgroke
