Sep 25, 2016 5 min read

Four touchdown passes, more than 300 yards passing, two clutch touchdown drives in the fourth quarter.

Trevor Siemian played every bit like Peyton Manning in his first road start.

In some ways, even better.

Siemian was nearly perfect as he rallied the Denver Broncos to a 29-17 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday, leading a pair of fourth-quarter touchdown drives with veteran aplomb.

The defending Super Bowl champions’ biggest offseason challenge was replacing their famous quarterback, and it looks as if they made the right choice. They’re 3-0 under Siemian, who took over after Manning retired and Brock Osweiler went to Houston.

Siemian became the first Bronco to throw for four touchdowns since Manning in 2014 against the Dolphins. No NFL quarterback had thrown for 300 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions in their road debut, according to ESPN Stats and Info.

“Obviously going in, nobody really knew about him,” said Emmanuel Sanders, who caught the first two touchdowns. “Now, everybody’s starting to talk about him. He’s always calm, cool and collected, even in the fourth quarter. You should have seen the way he took command in the huddle.”

Trailing at the start of the fourth quarter, Siemian completed 11 of 12 passes while rallying the Broncos to those fourth-quarter touchdowns. He finished 23 of 35 for 312 yards and a passer rating of 132.1.

“I’m still learning a lot,” Siemian said. “There are a couple of plays I’d like to do over again.”

Siemian had a 41-yard touchdown pass to Sanders to get it started, and stood in under a heavy rush and connected with Demaryius Thomas on a 55-yard score with 4:23 left to clinch it. Sanders finished with nine catches for 117 yards.

Baltimore 19, Jacksonville 17: Justin Tucker kicked a 54-yard field goal with 1:02 remaining, lifting the Baltimore Ravens to a 19-17 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Tucker raised both arms in celebration as his fourth field goal of the day split the uprights with plenty of distance. The Ravens improved to 3-0 for the third time in franchise history and first since 2009.

The Jaguars fell to 0-3 for the third time in the last four years and surely will hear more talk about coach Gus Bradley’s job security. Bradley is now 12-39 in four seasons, the second-worst winning percentage of any NFL coach with at least 50 games.

Tucker also made kicks of 43, 42 and 37 yards.

Miami 30, Cleveland 24, OT: Jay Ajayi scored on an 11-yard run with 8:26 left in overtime, and the Miami Dolphins escaped with a 30-24 win over the Cleveland Browns on Sunday.

Ajayi’s gamewinner came one play after Miami quarterback Ryan Tannehill found a wide-open Jarvis Landry for a 32-yard gain, as the Dolphins (1-2) avoided what would be their first 0-3 start since 2011.

Tannehill threw for 319 yards and three touchdowns for Miami, and Landry caught seven of those passes for 120 yards.

Cody Parkey missed three field goals for Cleveland, including a 46-yarder as time expired in regulation. The Browns had a golden chance to win after Corey Lemonier stripped the ball from Tannehill and recovered the fumble himself with 20 seconds left.

Green Bay 34, Detroit 27: Aaron Rodgers threw for 205 yards and four touchdowns, including two in the first half to Jordy Nelson, and the Green Bay Packers snapped out of their offensive funk before holding off the Detroit Lions for a 34-27.

Rodgers was 15 of 24, leading the Packers to touchdowns on their first three series. Nelson had 101 yards on six catches, returning to the form that made him one of the NFL’s best receivers before missing the 2015 season with a knee injury.

Oakland 17, Tennessee 10: Derek Carr threw for 249 yards and a touchdown, and the Oakland Raiders beat the Tennessee Titans 17-10 with their defense finally coming up with some big plays.

The Raiders (2-1) forced three turnovers and had a sack after coming into this game having given up more yards than any team since at least 1940 through the first two games. Coach Jack Del made a couple of lineup changes, starting linebacker Cory James and rookie safety Karl Joseph, their top draft pick.

Minnesota 22, Carolina 10: Sam Bradford threw a touchdown pass to Kyle Rudolph, Marcus Sherels returned a punt for a score and the Minnesota Vikings snapped the Carolina Panthers’ 14-game home winning streak 22-10.

Buffalo 33, Arizona 18: LeSean McCoy scored twice and safety Aaron Williams returned a botched field-goal snap 53 yards for a touchdown in leading the Buffalo Bills to a 33-18 win over the Arizona Cardinals.

Washington 29, N.Y. Giants 27: Dustin Hopkins kicked a 37-yard field goal late in the fourth quarter for his fifth of the game and the Washington Redskins avoid a near-disastrous 0-3 start with a 29-27 win over the penalty- and error-prone New York Giants.

Seattle 37, San Francisco 18: Russell Wilson threw for 243 yards and a touchdown before suffering a left knee injury as the Seattle Seahawks rolled to a 37-18 rout of the San Francisco 49ers.

Kansas City 24, N.Y. Jets 3: The Kansas City Chiefs returned two turnovers for touchdowns, intercepted three passes in the end zone and forced eight turnovers total in a 24-3 victory over the hapless New York Jets.

Indianapolis 26, San Diego 22: Andrew Luck shook off a sore throwing shoulder, then watched T.Y. Hilton break a tackle on a 63-yard touchdown pass with 1:17 to play, giving the Indianapolis Colts a 26-22 victory over the San Diego Chargers.