And two, who are the Pittsburgh Steelers to be 6 and-a-half point favorites against the NFL’s No. 1 defense? Despite the fact in that they’re presently on the surface of the AFC playoff picture, they control their very own destiny & their path to the postseason is true in front of them.
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The Steelers will attempt for the fourth time this season to win a third consecutive game. It’ll be interesting to see if Denver is any less press-heavy with the backup, especially with Pittsburgh playing Antonio Brown and Martavis Bryant on opposites sides of pretty much every formation. Against all other teams they played mostly man-to-man.
The Denver Broncos and Pittsburgh Steelers both have plenty to fight for at this point in the season.
Roethlisberger, Brown, and Bryant are going to have their work cut out for them this week against a strong Broncos’ secondary that has been the top defense against the pass. The Broncos have allowed just 188 yards per game.
Though they have gone 3-1 with Osweiler at quarterback, Denver has averaged just 19 points per game in those contests.
Antonio Brown is the best weapon that Ben has and he may be the best weapon in the NFL.
How long can the Broncos’ defensive backs be expected to stick with the Steelers’ receiving corps in coverage? Those numbers dwarf those of the National Football League regular-season leaders – the Panthers’ top-ranked 31.6 scoring average and the Cardinals’ No. 1 offense that is generating 417.5 yards. But with the Texans’ offense stalling, Yates must take some chances and give Hopkins an opportunity to win the jump balls on which he regularly beats defenders.
The journey is far from over for the Steelers, who still have to lock down a playoff spot.
“We’re doing some good things, but we’re not to where we want to be yet”, Roethlisberger said.
No team has ever finished an NFL season leading the league in all three of those categories but this is how the Broncos butter their bread and the Steelers’ offense is quite excellent. Pittsburgh is 24-12 overall in December games since Mike Tomlin took over as coach in 2007. “We try to be very fundamental in our techniques and continue to teach and preach that daily even at this time of the year”.
Even so, the defense always travels and Denver has arguably the best one in the league.
Through the air, the Steelers are more susceptible.
The Steelers can move into the sixth position in the AFC playoff race with a win, but Denver’s defense will provide it with the stiffest test this season. Von Miller and DeMarcus Ware must lead the charge to get Ben Roethilisberger out of rhythm and under duress for most of the game. Defensively, the Steelers yield 275.5 yards in passing and 90.3 yards in rushing. McCarron the remainder of the season and Sunday will mark his first career start.
But Denver’s defense, which has a league-leading 44 sacks, could find the edge it needs if it can pressure Roethlisberger into mistakes.
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The Steelers blitz from everywhere so the bootleg/rollout passes may not be the Broncos’ play this week.
