After back-to-back heartbreaking losses on walk-off field goals, the Denver Broncos got exactly what they needed on Monday night when they beat the Cincinnati Bengals by 25 points.
This was a collective effort that allowed the Broncos to get to 2-2 on the season, keeping pace with the 3-1 Los Angeles Chargers. The Broncos had little trouble with the Bengals, who were missing their starting quarterback, Joe Burrow, and put up little fight in this one.
The Bengals took the opening kick and drove 62 yards down the field, making it look easy and kicking a field goal to go up 3-0. Those were their only points on the night and it was all Denver from there. Here is who stood out for the Broncos.
Denver Broncos Week 4 winners
Winner: Bo Nix, QB
Bo Nix played his best game of the season by far in this one, showing great command of the offense and better footwork than we had seen in the first three games. He completed 29-of-42 passes for 326 yards and two touchdowns. He did throw one terrible interception in the end zone, his fourth on the season, but it ended up being a non-factor in the overall result.
Winner: J.K. Dobbins, RB
J.K. Dobbins looked tremendous in this game and became the first player to rush for 100 yards since the season finale in 2022. Dobbins had 101 yards on the ground in this game and averaged 6.3 yards per carry. The biggest hope from this win is that it will be the start of a strong ground attack going forward for this team.
Winner: RJ Harvey, RB
Fans were starting to get a bit nervous about the team's second-round pick, who has had a quiet start to the season. That changed on Monday night as he was featured in the offense and made the most of it.
Harvey carried the ball 14 times and had 58 yards rushing while also catching four balls for 40 more yards and his first career touchdown.
RJ HARVEY TOUCHDOWN‼️
— UCF Football (@UCF_Football) September 30, 2025
The first of many in his NFL career 🫡
📺 CINvsDEN on ABC pic.twitter.com/07riD29ozl
For a player who only had 80 yards rushing in total in the first three games, he needed this performance.
Winner: Courtland Sutton, WR
Courtland Sutton continues to be a true pro for this team and always comes through when Nix needs him. He caught five passes for 81 yards in this one and he made this great touchdown catch just before halftime to put the Broncos up 21-3.
tough catch from Courtland Sutton 💪 pic.twitter.com/Lae2PdAwx5
— NFL (@NFL) September 30, 2025
Based on the way this one had gone to that point, this felt like a dagger.
Winner: Denver Defense
Yes, the entire unit. Any time you hold another NFL team to just 159 total yards, you have done something good.
The Broncos' defense was heavily criticized in the first three games due to the expectations many have for this season and on Monday night, even if it was against a backup quarterback, the team may have gotten the performance that starts to turn that around.
The Broncos allowed just three points and had three sacks. Cincinnati appeared to be looking to pick on Riley Moss like they did in the matchup between these teams last year but aside from the opening possession of the game, that didn't even work.
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Moss held his own and the Broncos played a terrific defensive game.
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