SportsDirect Inc. staff
Sep 18, 2011

Kyle Orton threw two touchdown passes to Eric Decker in the second half as the injury-riddled Denver Broncos nearly blew a 14-point lead but held on for a 24-22 victory over the visiting Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday.

Orton improved to 22-10 as a starter in his career at home as the Broncos (1-1) won their fourth in a row over the Bengals and ninth straight over them at home dating to 1975.

Rookie Andy Dalton was 24 of 34 for 298 yards and two touchdowns for the Bengals (1-1), who were trying for their first 2-0 start since 2005.

The Broncos’ defense sealed the victory with a stop on fourth-and-19 at the Bengals 43 with 23 seconds left.

Denver backup quarterback Tim Tebow saw his first action of the season – as an emergency wide receiver. He lined up for a handful of plays, but was not involved in any of them.

Five Denver starters missed Sunday’s game, including wide receiver Brandon Lloyd, who was a late scratch. That left only three healthy receivers, including Eddie Royal, who left the game with a groin injury in the first half.

The Broncos led 17-3 following Decker’s 25-yard touchdown early in the third quarter before the Bengals scored 13 unanswered points, highlighted by Dalton’s 10-yard touchdown pass to Andre Caldwell.

After Decker’s 52-yard TD catch in the fourth quarter, Dalton answered with a 5-yard scoring pass to rookie A.J. Green to make it 24-22 with 11:23 to go.

Denver's Willis McGahee, who started in place of the injured Knowshon Moreno (hamstring), had 101 yards and a touchdown.