Denver Broncos rally to defeat Cincinnati Bengals in overtime, clinch playoff berth

DeMarcus Ware came up with the big play he’s been looking for since returning from a back injury -- and it put the Denver Broncos into the playoffs.

Ware beat AJ McCarron to a fumbled snap in overtime Monday night, sending the Broncos into the playoffs with a 20-17 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals.

Ware’s recovery followed a 37-yard field goal by Brandon McManus, whose shanked 45-yard attempt at the end of regulation made the extra drama necessary.

The Broncos (11-4) overcame a 14-0 first-half deficit in clinching their fifth consecutive playoff berth and denying the Bengals (11-4) their first road win on a Monday night since 1990.

“There’s an old saying: `It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish,”’ Broncos quarterback Brock Osweiler said. “And this team finished great tonight.”

Cincinnati also blew a chance to earn a bye in the playoffs.

The Broncos can earn the top seeding in the AFC with a victory over the San Diego Chargers and a loss by the New England Patriots at Miami next weekend.

Denver, which was in danger of becoming the first team since the 1970 merger to miss the playoffs after starting 10-2, ended a two-game skid with its third overtime win of the season.

McManus has missed a kick in five consecutive games, and this one wasn’t even close. It sailed wide left — missing the protective netting — to the astonishment of 74,511 fans even though the flags atop the goal posts revealed a complete lack of wind.

The relieved Bengals called tails and the coin landed heads.

Unlike Patriots Coach Bill Belichick a day earlier, Broncos Coach Gary Kubiak chose to receive, and Denver drove 60 yards in 13 plays. Both Emmanuel Sanders and Owen Daniels limped off during the drive.

Osweiler, making his sixth consecutive start in place of Peyton Manning, also banged an elbow in the frenetic final minutes but stayed in the game.

McManus then redeemed himself by splitting the uprights from 37 yards out five minutes into the extra period.

Then, it was up to the league’s best defense to seal the deal.

There was an incompletion on first down that the Broncos felt should have been a fumble by McCarron with Derek Wolfe recovering the ball as it skittered downfield, but a review upheld the ruling.

Incomplete, setting up a second-and-10 play from the Bengals’ 33-yard line.

Center Russell Bodine’s shotgun snap sailed past McCarron, making his second start in place of Andy Dalton, and Ware beat him to the loose football at the 23.

Game over.

McCarron had driven the Bengals on two long first-half drives, covering 80 and 90 yards and eating up a total of 16:24 to put Cincinnati ahead, 14-0. He and A.J. Green hooked up on a five-yard touchdown pass and Mohamed Sanu scooted in from six yards out on a direct snap.

After that, McCarron found it tough to sustain drives against Denver’s defense, which is ranked No. 1 against both the run and the pass and held McCarron to 200 yards passing and the Bengals to 3.3 yards a carry.

The Broncos pulled to within 14-3 at halftime on McManus’ short field goal, and the Broncos came out a different team in the second half — a reversal of last week at Pittsburgh, where they jumped out to a 17-point lead but were outscored 24-0 after the break.