An early hush fell over the stands at Sports Authority Field. For the first 30 minutes of play Monday night, the crowd of 74,511 sat frozen and confused in 16-degree weather, hoping, perhaps expecting, a better showing than what the Broncos were offering against Cincinnati.
A playoff berth hung for the taking. And the Broncos seemed prepared to let it stay there.
It was another tale of two halves, another down-to-the-wire roller-coaster ride the Broncos and their fans have grown accustomed to.
The Broncos are, if anything, unpredictable. And, in a dramatic 20-17 overtime victory, Denver upheld its reputation as it clinched a playoff berth.
“We talked at halftime, ‘Hey, we’ve had some struggles in the second half. It’s time to play the best second half we’ve played all year,’ and we did that tonight. Very proud of our guys, how we battled,” Broncos coach Gary Kubiak said of overcoming a 14-3 halftime deficit.
Quarterback Brock Osweiler brought the Broncos back, making his best throws late in regulation and in overtime, repeatedly connecting with tight end Owen Daniels and wide receiver Demaryius Thomas.
“Just impressed with how Brock handled the group,” Kubiak said.
Asked if Osweiler would be the starter Sunday against San Diego in the regular-season finale, Kubiak said: “Yeah, I mean, I’ve said that. Nothing has changed with Brock. If something would change, players would know first, and you all (media) would know second. But our football team is moving forward. Our mind-set goes to San Diego.”
A 39-yard touchdown run by C.J. Anderson with 11:17 left in the fourth quarter gave the Broncos their first lead, 17-14. “C.J. played big throughout the course of the game,” Kubiak said.
Osweiler moved the Broncos in position to win in regulation, but Brandon McManus duck-hooked a 45-yard field-goal attempt, sending the game into an extra period and raising the pressure.
“I don’t think I’ve ever kicked a ball like that in my life, in grade school or elementary school or anything,” McManus said. “I just wrapped my foot around it.”
The Broncos won the coin toss for overtime, elected to receive, then moved smartly downfield, setting up a 37-yard field goal by McManus for the 20-17 lead. With the Broncos needing one stop to win the game, the Bengals helped out. On a second-and-10, quarterback AJ McCarron fumbled a snap in the shotgun, and outside linebacker DeMarcus Ware recovered at the Cincinnati 33-yard line. Game over.
The stadium rocked. Hope was renewed.
And finally, if only temporarily, the second-half struggles of the Broncos over the past three weeks — during which they were held scoreless — were forgotten. They were replaced by thoughts of the playoffs.
On Sunday, a loss by the Steelers ensured that the Broncos needed to win only one of their final two games to punch their ticket to the playoffs.
They took that step late Monday. Should they defeat San Diego at home Sunday, the Broncos will win their fifth consecutive AFC West championship and secure no worse than a No. 2 seed in the playoffs, which gives them a first-round bye.
To get there, they needed to overcome a 14-point deficit for the third time this season.
Led by McCarron, making only his second career start, the Bengals marched 80 yards in 15 plays for a 7-0 lead, then followed with a 13-play, 90-yard scoring drive for a 14-0 lead.
In only 8 minutes, 46 seconds of possession in the first two quarters, the Broncos’ offense became one-dimensional and recorded only 89 yards, compared with the Bengals’ 204.
The run game? There wasn’t much of one. The offensive line? Porous.
When the Broncos returned from the halftime break trailing 14-3, the temperature dropped another 2 degrees.
But the volume of the crowd and the intensity of the play below them was raised. Wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders dived into the end zone on Denver’s first possession of the second half, giving the Broncos a third-quarter touchdown for the first time since Nov. 8.
Sanders’ 8-yard touchdown catch brought Denver within 14-10.
Anderson’s run gave them the lead. Cincinnati responded with a tying field goal, and McManus missed.
A hush returned over the stadium.
But not for long. Not with Ware on the edge. Not with the Broncos, masters of surprise.
Nicki Jhabvala: njhabvala@denverpost.com or @NickiJhabvala
