Broncos pick on CB Pacman Jones in 29-17 win over Bengals
CINCINNATI (AP) The Broncos went right at Bengals cornerback Adam ''Pacman'' Jones, and got him.
Denver put in several plays designed specifically to get Jones caught out of position, and they wound up with a pair of long touchdown passes during a 29-17 win over Cincinnati on Sunday.
Jones, the Bengals' top cornerback, fumbled a punt that set up the Broncos' first touchdown. Emmanuel Sanders made a double move to get past him along the sideline for a 41-yard score. In the fourth quarter, the Broncos expected Jones to be covering Demaryius Thomas for what turned out to be the clinching play.
Jones was on the sideline with cramps, but the Broncos ran the double-move play anyway and got a 55-yard touchdown over backup cornerback Chris Lewis-Harris.
''It was so horrible,'' Jones said of his rough first half. ''It happens. The greats go out and find a way to make a play.''
The Broncos (3-0) got four touchdown passes from Trevor Siemian in his first road start, including the two long plays when receivers made a move in one direction to draw the cornerback that way, and then ran past them.
''We game-planned all week on double moves,'' said Sanders, who had nine catches for 117 yards and two touchdowns. ''In the first 15 plays, we had three or four double moves. We knew we were going to take our shots, even on Demaryius' touchdown.
''That was a double move versus Pacman. Those double moves paid off.''
Cincinnati (1-2) got its defense run over in a win over the Jets and a loss to the Steelers. The Bengals came out determined to stop the running game and make Siemian and the Broncos' fabulous receivers beat them. Denver wound up with 355 total yards - 312 passing, 52 rushing.
Both of the long touchdown passes came on third-down plays when defenders allowed the receivers to get past them.
''We've got to figure that out and do better because right now, we're not good enough at it,'' coach Marvin Lewis said.
The Bengals have a lot of problems as they sit at 1-2 for the first time in five years. Their offense is out of sync and the defense has repeatedly given up big plays in all three games. The defending AFC North champions are already two games behind.
''This is a winning team by far,'' Jones said. ''The last two games we lost, we were better than those teams. Today they played better than us in the fourth quarter. But we'll learn from this and pick it up.''
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