Broncos shown up by Steelers, suffer second defeat
By John Livingston | November 10, 2009
The Denver Broncos offense fell victim to the Pittsburgh Steelers defense in last Monday night’ prime time match up as the Steelers defeated the Broncos 28-10. Defense was they key word of the game as both defensive squads collected a touchdown and big interceptions. However, it was the Steelers ability to capitalize on more Denver turnovers that led to their victory at Invesco Field last night.
The Broncos drove the ball down the field early against the Steelers as quarterback Kyle Orton looked sharp, connecting with Eddie Royal three times for 47 yards on the opening drive. Brandon Marshall also got his game working early and often as he finished with a season high 11 catches for 112 yards. However, the run game struggled to get anything going with Correll Buckhalter getting the start. The Broncos were forced to settle for a field goal on the opening drive and this would be their only offensive points on the night as the Steelers forced Denver into a punt or interception the rest of the night.
Denver’s defense was stout early and held Ben Roethlisberger in check throughout the first half by not allowing any offensive points for the Steelers. Pittsburgh did not even record a snap in Denver territory until the second half. However, the Broncos would not hold the lead going into half as Orton was intercepted by Steelers safety Tyrone Carter who was filling in for usual starter Ryan Clark, who sat out the game due to the dangers the altitude places on his sickle cell trait. Carter was aided by a referee who made it hard for running back Knowshon Moreno to make a play on Orton’s errant pass; thanks to the referee’s pick Clark was able to return the interception for a touchdown. This would be the key play of the first half as the defensive stale mate continued.
Denver trailed just 7-3 at the end of the first half and the Steelers were set to receive. The Steelers got their offense rolling and navigated into Denver territory for the first time all night. This seemed to anger the Broncos defense as they came right after Roethlisberger with Kenny Peterson recording a forced fumble on a sack. Rookie first round pick Robert Ayers was able to swoop the ball up off the grass with a team of defenders to escort him in for his first career touchdown.
However, Roethlisberger would not go down without a fight as he rallied his offense around him on the side line and looked determined to lead his team back down the field. Big Ben did just that as he got the protection he needed to make big plays with his arm. The Steelers converted on countless key third downs and finally got their own running game going behind Rashard Mendenhall, who eventually finished with 155 yards on 22 carries.
The Broncos failed to sustain any rhythm on offense after getting key penalties and two more Orton interceptions. Steelers safety Troy Polamalu showed why he is the leagues best safety as he stuffed Buckhalter in the back field and then followed it up with a dagger interception on an Orton overthrow. Orton finished 23-38 for 221 yards and the three interceptions.
The Steelers eventually wore down the Denver defense that was on the field most of the second half due to the struggling Broncos offense. Roethlisberger was able to hook up with Hines Ward twice and Mike Wallace once in the end-zone as the Steelers eventually defeated the Broncos 28-10.
The Broncos found themselves losing the field position battle again and again Monday with Broncos punter Mitch Berger struggling to kick the ball deep. Berger averaged just 33.4 yards per punt on 7 kicks and was unable to pin the Steelers deep in their own zone. The short-field made it hard for the Broncos defense to stop the the Steelers from marching the rest of the way down the field.
The running game of Denver was the most noticeable difference in this game as neither Buckhalter nor Moreno were able to rip off big carriers. The pair racked up just 27 yards between them which is simply not enough to compete with teams the caliber of the defending world champion Steelers. This made it hard for Orton and Coach Josh McDaniels to keep their offense going and Orton was forced to throw on 3rd and long all night. This caused him to try and force the ball in to tight spaces and make poor decisions at times. Orton has received criticism from Denver fans since this most recent loss; criticism that I do not feel is warranted. Orton threw just his first three “real” interceptions of the season and has been a big reason to why the team has succeeded and played to a 6-2 record and a one game lead in the AFC West. While Orton has struggled over the course of the past two weeks it has been a sign more of the overall offense and not a reflection of Orton himself. The loss was just Orton’s third career loss in his home stadium and he is still showing that he has what it takes to properly manage McDaniels offense. The Broncos will have to maintain a running game for Orton to be succesful and their failures the last two week has led to Orton’s poor play. McDaniels and the backs will look to get things righted next week as they travel to the nation’s capital to face the 2-6 Washington Redskins.
On a side bright note on the night, the play of new nickle-back Ty Law. Law did his part in coverage and can only improve as he played with just one day of practice with his new Broncos defense. The Broncos defense has shown that if the offense can help keep them off the field that they can hold any offense in check. Now it is just up to the offense to figure out how to get the ball in the end zone consistently. They will look to get it done against the struggling Redskins before coming home for a huge match-up against the San Diego Chargers, who find themselves now just one game behind the Broncos.
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[...] Steelers safety Troy Polamalu showed why he is the leagues best safety as he stuffed Buckhalter in the back field and then followed it up with a dagger interception on an Orton overthrow. Orton finished 23-38 for 221 yards and the three …This Post [...]
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