CINCINNATI -- There's still about three months until the start of the regular season.
Still, it isn't too early to start previewing the Cincinnati Bengals' year by looking at the past and seeing how they previously fared against the teams they will be facing. Whether they last saw their upcoming opponents one year ago or four, and whether they faced them in the regular season or in the playoffs, there could be something to learn from those meetings.
We began with the first team on the Bengals' 2015 schedule, the Oakland Raiders. Next came the San Diego Chargers. Next came the Baltimore Ravens. Next came the Kansas City Chiefs. Next came the Seattle Seahawks. Next came the Buffalo Bills. Then came the Pittsburgh Steelers. Then came the Cleveland Browns. Then came the Houston Texans. Then came the Arizona Cardinals. Then came the San Francisco 49ers. Now, we conclude with team No. 12, the Denver Broncos.
In their most recent outing against the Broncos, the Bengals were aided by a couple of timely interceptions from a backup cornerback:
DENVER BRONCOS
Date of 2015 meeting: Dec. 28, at Denver
Broncos' 2014 record: 12-4
All-time series: Broncos lead 19-9
Last time Bengals faced 49ers: Cincinnati won, 37-28, on Dec. 22, 2014
How the game was won: In one of their more complete wins of last season, the Bengals knocked off the eventual AFC West champion Broncos thanks to a strong rushing performance by rookie Jeremy Hill, and a couple of key pick-offs by reserve cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick.
Hill put his stamp on the game early. He responded to quarterback Andy Dalton's opening-drive interception by ripping off an 85-yard touchdown run on the very first play of Cincinnati's following possession. With superb blocks from H-back Ryan Hewitt and receivers Mohamed Sanu and Dane Sanzenbacher, Hill was barely touched, other than behind the line of scrimmage, where he had to elude multiple defenders before breaking into the open field. Following that first-quarter score, Hill went on to rush 22 times for 147 yards. It was the fourth of his five 100-yard rushing games last season.
Although Cincinnati's offense rolled through the first three quarters, the Broncos were keeping pace. The Peyton Manning-Demaryius Thomas connection was particularly strong in the third, when Thomas kept slipping past veteran corner Terence Newman for big gains. When Thomas caught a 46-yarder after getting a step on Newman, it became clear the Bengals needed to make a change at the left corner position. All but one of Thomas' seven receptions came in the third quarter. All but five of his 115 receiving yards came in it, too.
At the very end of the period, Kirkpatrick was inserted into the game for Newman. The move paid off in the final three minutes when Kirkpatrick smartly read Manning on a short pass to Thomas, and snatched the ball out of the air on the back-shoulder throw. With no one in front of him, Kirkpatrick cruised for a 30-yard touchdown return that proved to be the final nail in the Bengals' scoring coffin. Moments later, with the Broncos nearing the end zone for a possible last-minute score, Kirkpatrick dove toward the sidelines for another interception, keeping his feet in bounds before he came down.
This year's key storyline: With Newman now in Minnesota via free agency, Kirkpatrick is expected to be the starter at the left corner position. The most obvious storyline will revolve around seeing if he can build off his success last year against Manning, and come away with another turnover. It'll also be interesting if Manning approaches passing in his direction differently during another key late-season Monday night game.