BRONCOS EDGED BY STEELERS, 17-13
 
October 8th, 2010: The Pittsburgh Steelers jumped to a 14-0 lead in the first
18 minutes, then held off a Broncos rally to win 17-13. The Steelers are now
6-1 and a half game ahead of the Chicago Bears in the AFC Central. The
Broncos fell to 0-7 on the season, have lost 15 in a row, and have only one
win in the last 25 games. They have not beaten a team with a winning record
since downing the Colts in the 8th game of the 2008 season.  

The Steelers sent a message to the Broncos on their first possession,
marching from their own four yard line to a touchdown in eight plays, with
Lawrence Maroney rushing for the final nine yards on a trap play off the left
side. After five punts (three by Denver, two by the Steelers), the Steelers
took over at their own 31 and scored a second touchdown 2:43 into the second
quarter, with quarterback David Garrard hitting Mike Sims-Walker on a 45-yard
long pass down the middle to give the Steelers a 14-0 lead. The 69-yard drive
took seven plays. 

Rookie quarterback Josh Freeman got the surprise start (most observers
expected to see Drew Stanton, after he threw two touchdown passes in the
final five minutes last week), and threw on nearly every Bronco down (the
three exceptions were all Freeman scrambles) in the first quarter, but to
little avail, completing just 5 of 13 for 36 yards in the first quarter, with
each possession ending in a punt.  

But after the Steelers went up 14-0 early in the second quarter, the Broncos
answered back on their next possession with an equally long, but ultimately
less successful, 69-yard drive of their own, moving from their own 16 to the
Steeler 15, but had to settle for a Mason Crosby field goal of 32 yards when
Freeman's last two passes fell incomplete. However, Freeman completed 6 of 9
for 63 yards on the possession (6 of 7 at one point), showing he had
apparently turned a corner.  

After the Steelers went for it on 4th and 10 from the Bronco 39 but failed to
convert when Garrard's pass to Jerricho Cotchery gained only 8 yards, the
Broncos were forced to punt, but the Broncos Terrell Thomas came up with a
big turnover, picking off Garrard in the final minute of the first half and
returning the pick 40 yards to the Steeler 18. The Broncos capitalized on the
turnover to the tune of another Mason Crosby field goal, this time of 25
yards when the drive stalled with a fourth and inches with 27 seconds left on
the clock. "We didn't want to risk turning down points there by failing to
convert or running out of time perhaps with a sack (the Broncos were out of
timeouts), so we took the three and left us within eight at halftime," Bronco
head coach Hank Sienzant said afterward. "The way they dominated the action
in the first half (232 yards of offense to the Broncos 133), we felt lucky to
get out at halftime only down one score."  

Each team started the second half with a scoring drive, with the Steelers
first moving from their own 34 to the Denver 20 from where Garrard picked up
six yards on a scramble on a third and seven, and Ryan Lindell's field goal
of 41 yards (after a penalty nullified his 31-yarder) was successful, giving
the Steelers a 17-6 lead. It was the last points the Steelers offense would
manage, as the Bronco defense forced them into three consecutive
three-and-outs over the next 15 minutes of the game.  

The Broncos took over at their own 25 and marched for a touchdown on a
75-yard drive of nine plays, taking nearly six minutes off the clock. Newest
acquisition Gartrell Johnson got the possession started when he took the ball
around left end for 11 yards. After Freeman hit Nate Washington for eight
yards, Adrian Peterson gained 12 bouncing a run down the right sideline. A
run to Glen Coffee added four, then Louis Murphy gained 13 on a reverse to
get the ball to the Steeler 27. But when the Steelers defensive tackle
Damione Lewis drove Freeman into the ground hard for a 12-yard sack, it only
served to stall the drive for a moment, as Freeman came back on the next play
with a screen pass to Murphy for 36 yards down the left sideline to the
Pittsburgh three. A sneak to Freeman for a yard moved the ball to the two,
and then Freeman hit Dwayne Bowe for the score on a short hitch just inside
the goal line to cut the score to 17-13 with almost 19 minutes left in the
game. 

But those would be the last points the Broncos would score too. The Broncos
next possession got to the Steeler 32, but on a first and ten from there,
Delanie Walker took a screen pass for four yards but fumbled when hit by Gary
Brackett, and the Steelers Michael Griffin recovered with 12:17 remaining in
the game.  

The Broncos got one first down on their next possession, but were forced to
punt from near midfield with 8:33 remaining when Freeman scrambled for only
three on a third and eleven.  

The Broncos got the ball back with 6:21 remaining, but picked up nothing on a
third-and-two fake reverse, and the Broncos punted the ball back to the
Steelers at their own four yard line wutg 4:15 remaining.  

It looked like the Broncos got a sack and a safety when B.J.Raji broke free
up the middle to tackle Garrard at the goal line, but he was ruled down at
the one, giving the Steelers a new life. After Marshawn Lynch ran for eight
to move the ball to the nine, Garrard scrambled for seven to pick up one
first down just outside the two minute warning, with the Broncos burning
their first time out to stop the clock with 2:11 remaining. However, it was
Garrard's 24-yard conection to Jerricho Cotchery for the second first down
that really broke the Broncos spirits. Two more runs by Lynch for another
first down ended the competitive portion of the game, although it took three
more Garrard kneeldowns to officially end the contest.  

Game Notes: Josh Freeman completed 14 of 19 for 158 yards and one touchdown
after his 5 of 13, 36 yard first quarter, showing the kid (only 21) does have
the potential to be a good quarterback in this league. The Broncos rushed for
only 34 in the first half on 11 rushes, but were much more successful in the
second half, picking up 79 yards on 14 carries after the intermission.
Everyone contributed, but Gartrell Johnson's three for 25 clearly earned him
more carries in the near future. Jermichael Finley led the Broncos with six
receptions for 61 yards, as he and Freeman have clearly developed a rapport
on and off the field. For the Steelers, David Garrard was the MVP with 12 of
23 for 215 yards and one TD, with one pick (80.9). But Josh Freeman finished
with an even better stat line of 19 of 32 for 194 and one touchdown (87.2).
B.J.Raji had a great game from the interior line (although he also lined up
at DE on occasion), getting nine tackles, one sack, one hurry and two stuffs
in the game. He led or tied for the Broncos team lead in the game in all four
of those categories. However, after the game, it was revealed he played the
game with turf toe which was agravated at some point in the game, and Raji
may now miss next week's contest at 4-3 Buffalo. The 6-1 Steelers will fly to
San Francisco for next week's game versus the 4-2 49ers.