Thanks to the ambitious New York Jets upsetting the New England Patriots Sunday 26-20 in overtime (no Bob Costas, we do NOT have to amend the overtime rules anymore than we already have) Sunday afternoon in the early window, the Denver Broncos and Cincinnati Bengals would have no worse than a first-round bye should they prevail tonight.
Monday Night Football has paid its dues with some pretty crummy match-ups this season (Ravens-Browns, what did ESPN do to the NFL to fall into such disfavor?) but they have definitively won the jackpot with tonight’s game.
The Bengals come into this game with the NFL’s #1 scoring defense (giving up only 17.