The Broncos’ offense looked good. The defense looked good. Then again, the Bengals are bad. 

Still, it was a much-needed win for Denver over Cincinnati, 28-3 on Monday night at Empower Field at Mile High. 

After consecutive losses at Indianapolis and at the Los Angeles Chargers, both on last-play field goals, the Broncos could not afford to start 1-3. Instead, they are 2-2 heading into Sunday’s game at defending champion Philadelphia. 

“It was super important,’’ outside linebacker Jonathon Cooper said of getting the win. “Just getting back in front of our fans, I feel like it was big for us.” 

The Broncos had talked all week about trying to find their offensive identity, and there were signs of it emerging Monday. Quarterback Bo Nix completed 29 of 42 passes for a career-high 326 yards, although he did throw an ugly interception in the end zone in the second quarter. 

Denver rolled up 186 yards on the ground, with J.K. Dobbins getting 101 to become the first 100-yard rusher in head coach Sean Payton’s three seasons. 

“We felt like we were able to run the ball,’’ Payton said. “We knew this was an important game to establish the line of scrimmage. … (It was) certainly a step in the right direction (for the offense) and I would say there were a lot of things that were able to do that can hopefully carry over.” 

The Broncos’ defense, after shaky showings against the Colts and the Chargers, allowed just 159 yards. But the Bengals are a shell of the team they were before star quarterback Joe Burrow was lost in Week 2 until at least December with a toe injury. 

With replacement quarterback Jake Browning making his first start of the season, the Bengals lost 48-10 at Minnesota in Week 3, and it wasn’t much better Monday. Browning completed just 14 of 25 passes for 125 yards. 

“We just came in with the mentality that we wanted to get it done,’’ said Broncos cornerback Ja’Quan McMillian. “The last few weeks have been hard on us. We haven’t been the smartest team defensively. We just wanted to come out there and execute and get the job done.” 

Browning did lead the Bengals (2-2) to a 26-yard field goal by Evan McPherson on their first drive of the game. But they didn’t get past the 50-yard line the rest of the night. 

The Broncos closed the first half with three straight touchdowns to take a 21-3 lead. Nix scored on a 6-yard run late in the first quarter. In the second quarter, wide receiver Marvin Mims scored on a 16-yard run, and Nix threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to Courtland Sutton with 8 seconds left in the half. 

Payton said Nix, with his play call and execution, “bailed me out.” That’s because had a player been tackled inbounds, the clock would have run out. 

“We just had to make it work,’’ Nix said. “We’re starting to find ways to click and find rhythm.” 

Nix bounced back for the touchdown throw after he had an errant pass picked off in the end zone on fourth-and-1 at the Cincinnati 2 by linebacker Demetrius Knight on Denver’s previous possession. 

The Broncos were content in the second half to mostly run the clock. They closed the scoring with Nix throwing a 12-yard touchdown pass to RJ Harvey with 4:58 left in the game. It was the first career touchdown for the rookie running back who wears No. 12. 

Sutton had five catches for 81 yards. Mims, who had been listed as questionable with a hip injury, had six receptions for 69 yards. 

On the ground, Dobbins carried 16 times for his 101 yards, and Harvey had 14 attempts for 58 yards. The Broncos had wanted to establish the run early, and they had 88 yards rushing in the first half while averaging 5.5 yards per carry. 

“Nobody can stop us if we keep doing what we’re doing (Monday),’’ said Dobbins, who became the first 100-yard rusher for Denver since Latavius Murray had 103 in the 2022 finale against the Chargers. “We’re just going to keep getting better.” 

Tight end Evan Engram returned to the Broncos after missing one game with a bad back, but didn’t make much of an impact. He had four catches for 29 yards, but had a drop and failed to get a second foot inbounds on what should have been an easy completion. 

The Broncos had three sacks, with outside linebacker Nik Bonitto getting 1.5. Bonitto has 4.5 this season, putting him on pace to finish with 19. The team record is 18.5 by Von Miller in 2012, which Bonitto has said is “very reasonable” to break. 

“I just feel like a more confident player this year,’’ Bonitto said after the game. “I’m seeing things a lot faster, trusting myself within the defense.” 

The win felt very good for the Broncos after two straight gut-wrenching defeats. On Sept. 14, a missed 60-yard field goal was wiped out by a leverage penalty on Denver, and Spencer Shrader then won the game on a 45-yard boot on the final play. On Sept. 21, Cameron Dicker’s 43-yard field goal on the final play won it for the Chargers. 

There was no drama down the stretch on Monday, just a bunch of penalties. The Bengals were penalized 11 times in the game and the Broncos seven times, and there were several penalties declined. 

“There will be some things to clean up with the penalties,” Payton said. 

Nevertheless, before Payton came to Denver in 2023, the Broncos had lost seven straight games on Monday Night Football. They have now won three straight games on Monday Night Football. They have now won three straight.