Cininnati Bengals intercept Peyton Manning four times in 37-28 victory that clinches playoff spot
CINCINNATI – With everything on the line, the Cincinnati Bengals picked off Peyton Manning – twice, no less – and ran back into the NFL playoffs.
Dre Kirkpatrick returned Manning’s third interception for a touchdown in the closing minutes Monday night, completing a fourth-quarter rally that gave Cincinnati a 37-28 victory over the Denver Broncos and a spot in the playoffs.
Kirkpatrick’s 30-yard return with 2:41 left capped a game of big plays – long runs, big kick returns and two interceptions run back for scores. With 67 seconds left, Kirkpatrick picked off Manning again to clinch it.
The Bengals (10-4-1) secured a playoff berth for the fourth consecutive season, a franchise record. They’ll play in Pittsburgh on Sunday night, with the winner taking the AFC North title.
Manning rallied the Broncos (11-4) to three touchdowns in the third quarter and a lead, but came up empty in the closing minutes and finished with a season-high four interceptions. The Denver loss gave New England home-field advantage throughout the playoffs in the AFC.
The AFC West champions have concerns about Manning’s health. He was limited in practice by a strained right thigh.
Denver scored 21 points in the third quarter, with Manning throwing a pair of touchdowns to Emmanuel Sanders.
With a chance to pull off his 51st game-winning drive, Manning threw a sideline pass directly to Kirkpatrick, who ran it back untouched in the heavy rain.
Bengals 37, Broncos 28
| Denver | 7 | 0 | 21 | 0 | — | 28 |
| Cincinnati | 7 | 13 | 7 | 10 | — | 37 |
Den—Talib 33 interception return (Barth kick)
Cin—Hill 85 run (Nugent kick)
Cin—FG Nugent 37
Cin—Gresham 2 pass from Dalton (Nugent kick)
Cin—FG Nugent 49
Den—Anderson 1 run (Barth kick)
Cin—Bernard 22 pass from Dalton (Nugent kick)
Den—Sanders 4 pass from Manning (Barth kick)
Den—Sanders 5 pass from Manning (Barth kick)
Cin—FG Nugent 23
Cin—Kirkpatrick 30 interception return (Nugent kick)
A—66,107.
| Den | Cin | |
| First downs | 22 | 20 |
| Total Net Yards | 385 | 353 |
| Rushes-yards | 19-85 | 37-207 |
| Passing | 300 | 146 |
| Punt Returns | 3-14 | 3-72 |
| Kickoff Returns | 3-121 | 3-134 |
| Interceptions Ret. | 1-33 | 4-44 |
| Comp-Att-Int | 28-44-4 | 17-26-1 |
| Sacked-Yards Lst | 2-11 | 0-0 |
| Punts | 6-47.2 | 5-42.2 |
| Fumbles-Lost | 0-0 | 2-1 |
| Penalties-Yards | 6-72 | 7-45 |
| Time of Poss. | 28:22 | 31:38 |
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING—Denver, Anderson 18-83, Thompson 1-2. Cincinnati, Hill 22-147, Bernard 8-36, Dalton 6-25, Sanzenbacher 1-(minus 1).
PASSING—Denver, Manning 28-44-4-311. Cincinnati, Dalton 17-26-1-146.
RECEIVING—Denver, Anderson 8-55, D.Thomas 7-115, Sanders 6-70, Welker 4-30, J.Thomas 2-33, Tamme 1-8. Cincinnati, Gresham 9-62, Bernard 5-45, Sanu 1-16, Tate 1-12, Sanzenbacher 1-11.
MISSED FIELD GOALS—Denver, Barth 49 (WL).