The Bengals aim to keep their playoff hopes alive in their home finale against the Denver Broncos on Saturday at Paycor Stadium.

• Denver Broncos @ Cincinnati Bengals (Get Tickets)
• Saturday, December 28 at 4:30 p.m. ET
• Cincinnati's FOX 19 and NFL Network (How to Watch)

Here is what to watch for (click to jump to a story section):

Burrow Faces Top-5 Scoring Defense

Joe Burrow leads the NFL this season with 4,229 passing yards and is tied with Baltimore's Lamar Jackson for the most touchdown passes (39) entering Saturday. He already has re-set his own single-season team record for scoring passes, and with 382 more yards he would match his passing yardage record (4611 in 2021).

Burrow gets set to take on a Broncos defense that is allowing just 18.7 points per game this season, the fourth-fewest in the NFL. He has faced a top-five scoring defense in Week 8 or later 11 times in his career, and in those matchups he boasts a 22-1 touchdown-to-interception ratio while leading the Bengals to a 7-4 record.

Last week, Burrow became the first quarterback in NFL history with at least 250 passing yards and three touchdown passes in seven consecutive games. He has a chance to becoming just the fourth player all-time with three or more scoring passes in eight straight games, joining Tom Brady (10 straight in 2007), Peyton Manning (eight in 2004) and Andrew Luck (eight in 2018).

Defense on Takeaway Spree

Cincinnati's defense has forced 11 turnovers over the current three-game winning streak, with two in Week 14 at Dallas, a season-high six in Week 15 at Tennessee and three more last Sunday against Cleveland. It is the Bengals' most takeaways in a span of three games since the first three contests of the 2006 season, when they also combined for 11.

Safety Geno Stone has been a key figure in the recent surge with an interception in each of his last three games. With another pick on Saturday, he would become the first Bengals defender to go four straight games with an interception since former safety Reggie Nelson had a five-game streak in Weeks 11-15 of the 2015 campaign. It also would tie for Stone's most consecutive games with a pick, as he previously logged a four-game streak last year while playing for Baltimore. Since the start of the 2023 season, Stone's 11 total interceptions are tied with Detroit safety Kerby Joseph for the league lead.

The rest of Cincinnati's recent takeaways have consisted of several "firsts." Undrafted rookie linebacker Maema Njongmeta had his first career fumble recovery late in the win at Dallas, Josh Newton grabbed his first career interception the following week at Tennessee, and in the Cleveland win Vonn Bell had his first punchout and recovery of the season and Jordan Battle snagged his first pick of the year.

Ja'Marr "Triple Crown" Watch Enters Final Two Weeks

Ja’Marr Chase heads into the weekend still leading the NFL in receptions (108), receiving yards (1,510) and receiving touchdowns (16). Should he hold onto the lead in each category through the next two games, he would become the sixth player in the Super Bowl era to complete the receiving "Triple Crown."

Chase also is within reach of a pair of Bengals single-season records, after surpassing his own receiving yardage record last week. He is one touchdown catch shy of matching Carl Pickens' 17 (1995), and four receptions shy of T.J. Houshmandzadeh's 112 (2007).

With 90 more receiving yards, Chase would become the fourth player in NFL history with 1,600+ yards and 16+ touchdowns in a single season. He would join Randy Moss (2003), Calvin Johnson (2011) and Cooper Kupp (2021).

Career Year for Another Chase

Chase Brown is continuing his emergence as one of the NFL's most versatile running backs. Since taking over as the full-time starter in Week 9, he has 839 yards from scrimmage, the third-most among all NFL backs behind Philadelphia's Saquon Barkley (1,242) and Detroit's Jahmyr Gibbs (851).

Brown has posted at least 100 scrimmage yards in each of the last five games, matching BenJarvus Green-Ellis (2012) and A.J. Green (2013) for the longest streak in Bengals history. It also is the longest active streak in the NFL.

Brown also is the only player this season with seven or more rushing touchdowns and four or more receiving scores. He enters Saturday with a team-leading 923 rushing yards, 77 shy of his first career 1,000-yard rushing campaign.

Broncos Offense

Rookie quarterback Bo Nix leads the Broncos offense. He has started every game for Denver this season after being drafted 12th overall in the 2024 NFL Draft. Nix had college stops at both Auburn and Oregon before heading to the Mile High City, and he has adjusted well to the pros. Nix and Jayden Daniels co-lead rookie quarterbacks in touchdown passes with 22, and Nix ranks 23rd in PFF pass-grade at 70.0.

"As the season has gone on, you've seen his confidence increase," Bengals head coach Zac Taylor said Tuesday. "He's been a really efficient player."

Nix was one of the more efficient passers in the middle part of the season, throwing just two interceptions from Weeks 3-13. However, he has tossed five picks in the last three weeks, including three in a 31-13 win over the Colts in Week 15. He has averaged 6.4 yards per attempt, the 11th-fewest among quarterbacks with at least 100 dropbacks, per PFF.

Nix is also a threat with his legs, tallying 78 carries for 352 yards and four touchdowns on the ground, ranking eighth among quarterbacks in rushing yards.

Denver has used a three-headed approach at running back this season, as Jaleel McLaughlin, Audric Estime and Javonte Williams have all received at least 55 carries. Williams has scored four rushing touchdowns, while McLaughlin and Estime are averaging 4.5 and 4.6 yards per carry, respectively. Williams is the receiving threat in the backfield, ranking seventh among running backs with 47 receptions.

On the outside, Courtland Sutton paces the Broncos receivers across the board. The SMU product is closing in on a 1,000-yard campaign and has 71 receptions, six of them for touchdowns.

The Denver offensive line has been strong, allowing the third-fewest sacks in the NFL at 22. The Broncos have the highest PFF pass-block grade in the league as well at 82.1.

Broncos Defense

The Broncos boast the second-best defensive unit in the NFL in terms of PFF grade, sitting at 78.2. The defense has allowed 20 points or fewer 10 times, and Denver is 8-2 in those games.

The Broncos have the league's ninth-best run defense in terms of PFF grading and allow just 3.9 yards per carry, the second-fewest in the NFL.

Denver leads the NFL with 51 sacks. Nik Bonitto headlines the pass rush: The edge rusher's 11.5 sacks are tied for the fourth-most in the NFL and trail Bengals DE Trey Hendrickson by two for the league lead.

The pass rush has also assisted one of the league's premier secondaries: The Broncos have tallied the fourth-most interceptions (15) and given up the fourth-fewest passing touchdowns (19) in the NFL this season. They have done a good job of limiting explosives through the air as well, allowing 6.7 yards per pass attempt and giving up only five passes of at least 40 yards.

Pat Surtain II leads the secondary as its shutdown corner. His 86.5 PFF-coverage grade leads all corners, while his 90.0 grade in zone coverage also paces the position. Surtain II could draw the task of covering Triple Crown Threat Ja'Marr Chase on Saturday, as he has often shadowed teams' top pass-catchers, including Seattle's DK Metcalf, Pittsburgh's George Pickens, Tampa Bay's Mike Evans and the New York Jets' Garrett Wilson. Surtain II leads Denver with four interceptions this season.

"He's so patient when he's covering people," QB Joe Burrow said Tuesday. "He never panics… I have a lot of respect for him."

Second-year cornerback Riley Moss hasn't been on the other side of Surtain II since Week 12 due to injury, but he was close to returning last Thursday and could be on the field this weekend. Despite missing the last three weeks, Moss still ranks second on the team in tackles.

"Obviously, the guy that plays opposite of [CB] Patrick [Surtain II] is going to get a lot of business," Broncos head coach Sean Payton said. "All throughout training camp, [Moss] really rose to the occasion, battled, competed, and throughout really a good portion of the season. He's a big reason why we were playing so well defensively…The sooner the better when we can get him back in the lineup. Hopefully, it can happen this weekend."

Denver ranks second in PFF-special teams grade, tied with the Bengals at 90.4, and kicker Wil Lutz has made 90.6% of his kicks this season.

Injury Report

Check out the Bengals 2024 Schedule.