CINCINNATI -- Corey Dillon had nowhere to run. Jon Kitna had no time to throw. Amid all of the breakdowns and boos, the Cincinnati Bengals realized they had a big problem.

The offensive line needs to get fixed fast.

The revamped line got overwhelmed during a season-opening 30-10 loss to Denver on Sunday. The Bengals gave up four sacks, Kitna threw two interceptions and fumbled twice, and Dillon ran for only 34 yards.

The line was at the root of the problems.

''We didn't play good enough to win,'' coach Marvin Lewis summed up, after watching video of the line's performance.

The opener was the first gauge of Lewis' offseason changes in the line, which had stayed pretty much intact for the last few seasons. Willie Anderson was the right tackle for the last six years, Mike Goff was the right guard for the last three, Rich Braham played center for the last four, and Matt O'Dwyer was the left guard since arriving as a free agent in 1999.

First-round draft pick Levi Jones took over at left tackle for the last 12 games last season, the first noteworthy change.

Lewis rearranged the line, leaving only the two tackles in place. Goff moved from guard to center, O'Dwyer moved from left guard to right, and second-round pick Eric Steinbach started Sunday at left guard.

The Broncos had their way, pouring through as Denver pulled ahead 30-3. Only a poor game by Broncos quarterback Jake Plummer kept it from being more lopsided.

''We came prepared to play, and I think they did too, but I don't think they were quite ready for the speed of the game,'' said Broncos linebacker Trevor Pryce, who had a sack and forced a fumble. ''In particular, their young guard had trouble with our speed, but he'll get better.''

Lewis was kind to the rookie after watching video a day later.

''Playing against Trevor Pryce is going to test you in a hurry,'' Lewis said. ''He's a good player. Eric played well for his first time out in a regular season game with 66 snaps. He's just got to keep playing and doing things the right way all the time, and understand that some things are going to get him flinched a little bit early.''

Dillon set an NFL record by running for 278 yards against the Broncos on Oct. 22, 2000, the last time they played. Pryce is one of three defensive starters left from that game.

This time, Dillon managed only 34 yards on 14 carries. On half of his runs, he was held to one yard, no gain or a loss. Eleven of the Bengals' 22 runs overall resulted in no more than a gain of one yard.

As the Broncos pulled ahead, their defense overlooked Dillon and zeroed in on Kitna, who was sacked four times and under pressure on most of his throws.

Things got worse when Anderson, the Bengals' best lineman, had to leave with a pulled hamstring. He's expected to play next Sunday in Oakland.

After watching video of the Bengals' line getting overwhelmed against Denver, the Raiders will likely throw some new twists at them as well.

''It's our job to block them, and we didn't get our job done,'' Jones said. ''You can put cheerleaders out there, you can put pit bulls out there -- whoever they put there, we've got to block.''