Despite a lengthy injury report, the Broncos rushed out to an early lead Dec. 20 and looked like world beaters in Pittsburgh. Brock Osweiler wowed in the first half completing 14-of-18 passes for 214 yards and three touchdowns while the defense allowed 13 points. It looked like they would not be missing anyone on their way to a big win.
The lead, however, would not last. The Broncos stalled out offense with negative plays and penalties killing drives, while the Steelers gashed the secondary for big chunks of passing yards. When the dust settled the Steelers had scored 24 unanswered points on their way to a 34-27 victory. The tale of two halves highlighted some missing players on both sides of the ball.
T.J. Ward and Darian Stewart weren’t around to patrol the middle of the field; as a result Ben Roethlisberger led his team to an improbable victory on 55 pass attempts and a total of 380 passing yards, the first and only quarterback this season to surpass 300 in a game against Denver. Osweiler suddenly became unable to handle the Steelers pressure and completed only 7-of-26 second half throws
The loss magnified the Broncos’ health problems. Entering their first tangle with the Steelers, the Broncos listed 22 players on the injury report, tying a season high. The team had to deal with key injuries for several weeks, but four weeks later on Sunday they will be nearing full strength. The injury report listed only 14 Broncos, zero were ruled out and only Brock Osweiler was listed as questionable.
Three out of the seven inactive players from the Broncos loss in Pittsburgh will be back and play vital roles in the rematch in the divisional playoffs at Sports Authority Field at Mile High Stadium.
