***MNF IN THE SWAMP - WEEK 16 - CIN @ DEN***
***CINCINATTI BENGALS @ DENVER BRONCOS***
OHHHH BABY!!! We're getting down to the nitty gritty here late in the season as the playoff picture is unfolding with every game, makes ya just tingle all over, don't it?! Tonight in the AFC we have the Cincinatti Bengals in Denver to take on the Broncos with both teams having something to play for and both teams also starting a backup QB. However, these aren't your ordinary "backup QBs" as Denver's Brock Osweiler is most likely the future there and has already started a handful of games in place of the injured legend, Peyton Manning. The Bengals will again start former Alabama QB and Champion AJ McCarron, who personally I think could be an eventual starter in this league, the Swamp likes what he sees with this kid. That being said I am not even the biggest fan of Andy Dalton and I think the opportunity is there for McCarron to stir up some conversation about his future there if he were able to win some games and do well in the playoffs. Did somebody mention playoffs? The Bengals are playing for a first round bye week tonight, which in their minds at the moment is a HUGE deal considering it allows them another week for their starting QB Andy Dalton to heal up that thumb in time for playoff action. The Broncos NEED to win tonight to lock up a playoff spot either via winning the division title in the final week or securing a wildcard spot, a win tonight seals the postseason birth for them one way or another. That being said, the pressure is on young Brock and the Pony's tonight as there is a lingering chance that they miss the playoffs all together if they were to drop these last two games which are obviously no "gimmes," as we saw this past weekend- in the NFL, nothing is. If the Broncos were to lose tonight and then to a rival San Diego team next weekend who will surely be looking to play spoiler, Kansas City would win the AFC West crown, and as long as the Steelers win, Pitt and the Jets would leap frog the Broncos for the two Wild Card spots, SAY WHAT?! OH MY MY MY.....I can hear the turnmoil and panic in Denver Nation already this week if the Broncos were to drop one at home tonight in the Prime Time spotlight. They will be calling for Peyton Manning to bail them out and did I mention the whole HGH fiasco that has now come out involving Manning serving as a distraction this week? Oh yea there is that too. What a potential mess this can be if Denver were to lose tonight, yikes! That all being said, the SwampMan can dig it!!!! I think AJ McCarron has a solid game tonight controlling the offense against a regressing Bronco defense. These guys are banged up late in the season and losing confidence quickly. I know AJ is a youngster with limited experience but I think he has what it takes to remain calm and the composure to handle the big moment. He will conduct the run game and find his targets when needed to move the chains. On the other side of things, Brock hasn't faced a defense like the Bengals will show him tonight and he has been hit a lot already. I like the Bengals to blitz the hell out of him and force him into some bad decisions here. SWAMPY CALLIN' FOR THE UPSET! BENGALS +4
