Broncos wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders admitted to some frustrated by his lack of opportunities in the first two weeks of the season, but said it was hard to get too upset when the team had wins both weeks.
Their chances of getting a third straight victory are being helped by Sanders in Cincinnati on Sunday. Sanders scored his second touchdown of the game on a seven-yard pass from Trevor Siemian with 28 seconds to play in the half to put the Broncos up 16-14. They took that lead to the halftime after Brandon McManus’ extra point was blocked and the Bengals opted to take a knee.
Sanders was targeted 11 times overall in the first half and scored a 41-yard touchdown earlier in the proceedings. He has seven catches for 89 yards, which represents a healthy number of the 171 total yards that Denver had in the first 30 minutes.
The Bengals defense had a few shots to pick off Siemian, but couldn’t come away with any of them. The only turnover of the half came when Adam Jones fumbled on a punt return just before Sanders’ first touchdown of the afternoon. It looked like Jones’ knee might have been down before the ball came loose, but the call on the field was upheld after a review.
That turnover looms large because the Bengals offense has been good when Jeremy Hill and ineffective under other circumstances. Hill has 85 yards on 11 carries and the team’s two touchdowns of the day, but the rest of the group only managed 81 yards in the first two quarters.