HALFTIME CEREMONY: Shannon Sharpe receives a huge standing ovation during his introduction and just about every fan remains standing during his two-minute speech.

Q3 15:00: Prater kicks off for the Broncos to start the second half, and once again the kick almost lands in the first row.

Q3 14:59: Cincinnati takes over at its own 20 yard line, and Benson gets the carry. He tries to go around the right side, but is leveled by Mays for a 1-yard loss.

Q3 14:20: On second down, the Bengals set up a screen pass. But Mays sniffs it out perfectly and is there again for the tackle, this time tackling Benson for a loss of 3 yards. On third-and-15, Dalton throws in the flank to Shipley, who gets back to the original line of scrimmage before being pushed out by Jonathan Wilhite. Huber comes on to punt and his kick goes out at the Broncos 41 yard line.

Q3 13:09: The Broncos come out on offense, and McGahee gets his first carry of the second half. He goes up the middle for a 4-yard gain. On second-and-6, Orton looks for Fells on a play-action rollout, but quickly looks the other way and finds McGahee on the right flank. The running back jukes a defender and gets 5 yards on the reception. Cincinnati is hit with a 15-yard roughing the passer penalty on the play and the Broncos have first-and-10 from the Bengals 35-yard line.

Q3 11:40: Lance Ball gets two carries in a row. His first carry goes for 3 yards up the middle, and then he picks his way for a 7-yard gain and a first down. On the ensuing play, Orton finds Decker for a short pass over the middle, who outruns two Bengals and jumps into the end zone for the touchdown. There is a personal foul penalty on the tackle in the end zone, which will be enforced on the kickoff. Prater tacks on the extra point.

BRONCOS 17, BENGALS 3

Q3 10:57: With the personal foul penalty enforced, Prater kicks off from the 50-yard line. The ball would’ve landed in the 10th row if the net wasn’t up.

Q3 10:56: Dalton takes a deep drop on a play-action pass, and finds Green for 26 yards over the middle for the reception and a first down. The ensuing play is whistled dead before it happened, as the Bengals are called for a false start, bringing up first-and-15.

Q3 10:15: Correction on the penalty: a defender entered the neutral zone, causing the Bengals to false start. It’s now first-and-5 from the Broncos 49 yard line.

Q3 10:14: Dalton drops back to pass on first down, but Ayers gets his hand up and knocks the ball down at the line of scrimmage. On second down, Dalton finds Green on a comeback route. Vaughn gambles and tries to deflect or pick it off, but is just a tad late, and Green runs down the right sideline before he is pushed out-of-bounds for the 25-yard completion.

Q3 9:30: On first-and-10 from the Broncos 24 yard line, Dalton looks for Simpson on a deep fade down the right side, but the ball sails out of bounds. Dalton rolls out on second down and completes a short pass to Shipley for 5 yards. He barely gets time to turn his head around before his legs are taken out from underneath him and he’s hurt. He’s on the ground for a few minutes before being helped off the field.

Q3 9:11: Dalton lines up in the shotgun on third-and-5 from the Broncos 19 yard line. He throws to Simpson on a short route, but the receiver drops it as he’s hit, bringing up fourth down. Nugent lines up for a 37-yard field goal on the right hash mark and drills it.

BRONCOS 17, BENGALS 6

Q3 8:54: Nugent’s kick is caught by Vaughn 8-yards deep in his end zone and we have our first kick return of the season here at Sports Authority Field at Mile High! Vaughn takes it 23 yards out to his own 15 yard line before he is wrapped up.

Q3 8:50: McGahee gets the carry on first down, but only gets a yard on the play. Orton finds Willis on a quick pass on the ensuing play for a 7-yard gain. The Broncos go to McGahee on third down, who runs up the middle for 2 yards and Colquitt comes on to punt on fourth-and-1. Jeremiah Johnson has great coverage downfield, forcing Tate to make a fair catch on his own 28-yard line.

Q3 6:40: On first down, Benson gets the carry and runs for 4 yards before he’s brought down by Von Miller. Dalton looks for Jermaine Greshman on a slant route on second down, but Goodman knocks the ball away from behind him. However, a late flag comes in and Goodman is flagged for pass interference.

Q3 6:12: With the ball on the Bengals 37 yard line, Dalton drops deep before Ayers forces him to roll to his right. Dalton completes a short pass on the sideline, but the Bengals are flagged for holding on Ayers, bringing up first-and-20 from the Bengals 27.

Q3 5:50: Dalton finds Green short right for a completion, and Green runs an extra few yards before being pushed out of bounds after a 10-yard gain. On second down, Dalton finds Simpson deep over the middle, and the receiver carries a few Broncos players a few extra yards before he his finally brought down after a 31-yard completion.

Q3 4:00: Dalton goes back to Simpson for a 12-yard gain down to the Broncos 20 yard line for another first down. Dalton passes again on the ensuing play, this time to Benson in the left flat who rumbles 10 yards for another first down. On first-and-10 from the 10, Dalton completes a pass to Caldwell over the middle, who turns and runs a few yards as the Broncos tackle him just when he enters the end zone for a touchdown. The Bengals go for two to get within a field goal, but Dalton’s quick slant pass is broken up by Goodman.

BRONCOS 17, BENGALS 12

Q3 3:37: We’re back to normalcy here, as Nugent’s kick goes through the end zone for a touchback.

Q3 3:36: Orton completes a 10-yard comeback pass to Willis, but the Broncos are called for holding and they’ll have first-and-20 on the 10 yard line.

Q3 3:00: Orton finds Decker on a wide receiver screen for 3 yards. On second down, Orton drops back, but is stripped from behind by Michael Johnson. The ball trickles forward and the Bengals come up with it at the 14 yard line.

Q3 2:18: Cincinnati takes over on first down and line up in a jumbo set. Dalton hands it off to Benson, who bounces to the outside on the left to look for room, but finds none as Hunter brings him down for no gain.

Q3 1:37: On second down, Dalton looks for Gresham on a quick pass to the right, but Vaughn knocks it loose causing the incompletion. Miller is down on the play for a brief instance but he walks off under his own power.

Q3 1:30: Cincinnati runs a screen play to Leonard, who goes for 9 yards before Moore shows his quick closing speed and tackling him 1-yard short of the first down. Nugent comes on for the 23-yard field goal and boots it through.

BRONCOS 17, BENGALS 15

Q3 1:05: Nugent’s kick goes through the end zone for yet another touchback.

Q3 1:04: The Broncos come out on first down. McGahee takes the handoff and dances through the middle for a 5-yard gain. On second-and-5, McGahee gets the handoff again, bounces around the left tackle, gets a nice block from Larsen before being tackled after a 7-yard gain. That brings the third quarter to a close. The Broncos are leading 17-15 and will have first-and-10 from their own 32 yard line when play resumes.

McGahee Rolling: McGahee now has 21 carries for 76 yards and one touchdown. The last time he had 21 carries was Nov. 9, 2008, a win at Houston.

Q4 15:00: Orton finds Larsen for a 6-yard short reception. On second down, McGahee breaks through the line for a 10-yard run.

Q4 14:15: On first down, Orton fakes the handoff, has time, and throws deep down the right sideline for Decker. The receiver adjusts to the ball and catches it as two Bengals players run into each other going for the pass. Decker turns and runs unimpeded into the end zone for a 52-yard completion. Prater tacks on the extra point.

BRONCOS 24, BENGALS 15

Q4 13:30: After Prater’s kick goes through the end zone, the Bengals start on their own 20. Miller is back on the field and storms off the left end to wrap up Dalton for the 13-yard sack.

Q4 12:59: On the ensuing play, Dalton completes to Simpson deep over the middle, who runs all the way down to the Broncos 9 yard line for the 84-yard completion.

Q4 11:40: Dalton finds Gresham on a short pass to the left for a 4-yard gain. On second-and-goal, Dalton throws to Green, who makes a twisting catch along the side of the end zone, taps two feet down for the score before falling out of bounds. Nugent hits the extra point.

BRONCOS 24, BENGALS 22

Q4 11:17: Nugent’s kick goes through the end zone for the touchback.

Q4 11:16: Orton hands off to McGahee on first down, who runs to the right for a 4-yard gain. On second-and-6, McGahee gets the carry again, but he only can get 1-yard.

Q4 10:00: The Broncos line up in a four receiver set with two of the receivers being tight ends, but Orton’s pass is tipped at the line of scrimmage as he’s hit and falls incomplete. Colquitt comes on to punt and Tate is wrapped up by Chris Harris. Credit Colquitt with a 59-yard punt.

Q4 9:40: Cincinnati starts the drive from it’s own 25 yard line, and Benson gets the carry on first-and-10. He goes 5 yards. Dalton hands off to him again, and he rumbles for 10 yards and a first down at the Bengals 40.

Q4 8:20: Benson gets his third carry in a row, but Mays stops him for just a 3-yard gain. On second-and-7, Dalton looks for a receiver down the right sideline. The ball is incomplete but Vaughn is called for pass interference.

Q4 7:42: On first-and-10 from the Broncos 41 yard line, Benson carries the ball for 2 yards. Dalton then looks for Green on a fade down the left, but the receiver can’t hold on to the twisting catch, to bring up third-and-8 at the Broncos 39.

Q4 6:54: Mays comes unblocked off the edge and nails Dalton as he throws it across the middle to a wide-open Simpson. But the pass is a little behind him and the receiver drops it. Huber comes on to punt and Decker makes a fair catch at his own 7 yard line.

Q4 6:41: Orton hands off to McGahee on first down, who picks his way for 1-yard to the 8. On second down, Orton lines up under center and looks for Fells on a comeback route, but the pass is broken up to bring up third down.

Q4 5:59: Tebow comes in the game again and lines up wide. Orton goes the other way though for Willis, but the quarterback is hit just after he releases and the pass is incomplete. Cincinnati takes its first timeout with 5:55 remaining as Colquitt comes on to punt.

Q4 5:55: Colquitt nails a punt out of his own end zone, and the ball sails over Tate’s head and bounces out of bounds at the Bengals 16 yard line. That’s an 82-yard punt for Colquitt. However, the Broncos are flagged for a penalty as a player was pushed out of bounds and stayed running out of bounds. The down will be replayed with the ball now at the Broncos own 4 yard line.

Q4 5:44: Tate fields Colquitt’s punt this time and returns it 16 yards to the Broncos 45 yard line. That’s a 57-yard punt for Colquitt.

Q4 5:39: Benson gets the first-down carry, and goes up the middle for 4 yards to the 41. On second-and-6, Miller comes off the right edge and is too quick to block as he grabs Benson for a no gain.

Q4 4:13: Dalton drops back to pass on third down, can’t find anyone, rolls out to his right and gets 5 yards on a scramble to the 36 yard line. It’s now fourth-and-1 and the Bengals are going for it.

Q4 3:22: The team doesn’t line up though before Dalton takes Cincinnati’s second timeout.

Q4 3:21: The Bengals line up in a jumbo formation and Dalton fakes the handoff to Benson. He can barely turn around though before Ayers nails him and Mays almost comes up with the interception. The Broncos stop the Bengals and take over on their own 36-yard line. The Bengals have two timeouts remaining, as the timeout they called just earlier on Dalton’s scramble wasn’t a timeout as the play was attempted to be challenged.

Q4 2:59: McGahee goes around the left side for a 9-yard run, but the play is called back for holding. On first-and-20, McGahee goes up the middle for 2 yards and the Bengals call their second timeout. After the break, McGahee gets another carry, this time for 4 yards, and the Bengals use their last timeout.

Q4 2:42: McGahee runs around the right side for 3 yards, but is pushed out of bounds to stop the clock. Colquitt comes on to punt and Tate returns it to the Bengals 30 yard line. However, there’s a holding penalty on the punt by the Bengals, and the ball will be spotted on the 5 yard line as Tate fielded the punt at the 10.

Q4 2:08: Dalton completes a pass on the left side to Gresham for 4 yards. On second-and-6, Dalton goes right again, this time to Green, who catches it for 9 yards and is wrapped up immediately by Goodman. If Goodman didn’t come up with that open-field tackle, Green had plenty of room to run.

Q4 1:58: That brings us to the two-minute warning. Cincinnati will have the ball on its own 18 yard line with no timeouts left, down 24-22.

Q4 1:57: Dalton completes a pass to a diving Green on a stop-and-go down the left side for a 22-yard gain to the Bengals 40 yard line. On the ensuing play, Dalton’s pass to the left is incomplete bringing up second down.

Q4 1:18: Dalton goes short across the middle to Caldwell, who is wrapped up immediately for an 8-yard gain. On third-and-2, Dalton rolls left before finding Green on the sideline for a 4-yard pass and first down as the receiver steps out-of-bounds.

Q4 0:57: With the ball on the Broncos 48 yard line, Dalton looks deep to Simpson down the right sideline, but the pass is long and incomplete. On second down, Dalton comes out in the shotgun, and is sacked by Wilhite on a delayed blitz.

Q4 0:35: On third-and-19 from the Bengals 43 yard line, Dalton’s pass over the middle is deflected by a diving Woodyard to bring up fourth-and-19 and the crowd is roaring.

Q4 0:33: On fourth down, Dalton drops deep, rolls to his right and fires a deep pass to Green on the right sideline, but it’s too deep and wide and falls incomplete out of bounds. There are no flags on the play. The Broncos will take over on downs and win it.

Q4 0:23: Orton takes a knee and the clock runs out. The game is over and Head Coach John Fox gets his first win as the Broncos coach. He promptly gets a Gatorade bath to celebrate the occasion.

FINAL SCORE: BRONCOS 24, BENGALS 22

Tags: Cincinnati Bengals, Denver Broncos, Second Half

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