This time, the defense, stout all year, buckled and collapsed in the second half, as Ben Roethlisberger diced the Broncos up for three touchdown passes – two to Antonio Brown and one to Markus Wheaton.
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The Steelers offense closed the gap but not before failing to score in the red zone after a first down at the 10. The Broncos rank first in the league in yards allowed, with just 272.5 yards allowed per game, and first in points allowed, with just 17.3 points per game scored against them.
After the defense stopped the Broncos on four downs with 2:14 remaining, Ben Roethlisberger threw a bad interception that was reminiscent of the first of two picks that cost the Steelers a victory in the first meeting with Cincinnati.
The Steelers took advantage of the Broncos banged up secondary, clawing their way back into the ballgame and tying it at 27 mid-way through the fourth quarter.
Pittsburgh ran out the clock.
“Some of our offensive linemen, who thought the play was over, started to jog”, Kubiak said. “Our defense bailed us out”. “We had to get lucky and make some plays“.
DeSean Jackson, Washington, had six catches for 153 yards, including a 77-yard TD. “Like I said, we hurt ourselves”. “You play this game long enough you’re going to get your butt kicked”, Brown said.
Danny Trevathan and Brandon Marshall had solid performances, making good tackles in the open field. “Kudos to those boys”.
“We understand that we’re never out of it”, said defensive end Cameron Heyward. I just don’t think we executed the same way in the second half. “I don’t think it was just Joey”.
Osweiler was 21 of 44 passing for 296 yards and was intercepted once. Then he comprehensively crumbled, going 7-of-22 for 82 yards after the break. “And we went out and played in the second half”.
Denver’s Emmanuel Sanders caught 10 passes for 181 yards and a score in his first game against his former team.
He caught eight passes for 139 yards and a touchdown as Denver roared to a 27-13 halftime lead. Demaryius Thomas hauled in a pair of touchdowns, but the Broncos were shut out in the second half for the third consecutive week and are just 3-4 following a 7-0 start.
Brown had Harris on skates for four quarters at Heinz Field on Sunday, slicing through Denver’s vaunted man-to-man scheme like filet mignon. On Sunday, he totaled 16 catches for 189 yards and two touchdowns in the comeback win over the Broncos, the second time in six games he’s totaled at least that many receptions in a game. SS T.J. Ward (ankle) and backup FS Omar Bolden (hamstring) also were inactive after being ruled out of the game Friday. Roethlisberger was content to connect primarily on short passes over the middle rather than try to challenge cornerbacks Aqib Talib and Chris Harris on deep routes.
Ben Roethlisberger expected the Steelers to score 30 points a game this season.
NOTES: Broncos FS Darian Stewart (hamstring) sat out after being listed as questionable Friday with a hamstring injury and replaced in the starting lineup by S Josh Bush. Brown is the only player since 1970 to have two 15-catch games in the same season….
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PACKERS 30, RAIDERS 20 (at Oakland, Calif.) – Aaron Rodgers threw a touchdown pass and Damarious Randall returned an interception for another score as Green Bay clinched its franchise-record seventh straight playoff berth.
