Darian Stewart
Stewart has been the unsung hero of a stacked defense this season. His physical play at free safety meshes perfectly with strong safety T.J. Ward’s equally hard-hitting mentality. Stewart missed the first run-in with the Steelers with a hamstring injury and returned briefly in the game versus the Chargers before re-injuring it. The Broncos are thrilled to have had a bye week to get their center fielder back for the playoffs.
“It’s full speed,” Aqib Talib said Wednesday about how Ward and Stewart’s return affects the team. “These guys are who I want to go with in the first 11 guys. That’s what it gives you. It gives you that confidence that all of your starters and all of your regular guys being able to go.”
The Steelers have finished the regular season with the third-ranked passing offense in the NFL and showed what they can do even against the best passing defense in the league, the Broncos, in Week 15. Stewart will provide the deep help that was missing on Dec. 20 while also playing is sure-tackling style in the run game. Roethlisberger is still listed as questionable for the game after a shoulder injury briefly sidelined him last week in their playoff win over the Cincinnati Bengals. If he does play he will likely have a hard time throwing deep and they will also try to run the ball often. Stewart is ready for his chance at Pittsburgh’s highly touted offense.
“It was just tough to not be able to help my squad last time,” Stewart said Monday. “It’s a playoff game. We know what happened last time and so we definitely remember it. We just have to go out there with our ‘A’ game. It is going to be best-against-best again. We will have a full strength [defense]. We just have to limit their yards.”
Almost every defender for the Broncos separately stated all week that the major difference in the game in Week 15 was simply tackling, which Stewart does that exceptionally well. He ranks fourth on the team in total tackles with 59. Asked if the game would have been different with him and Ward in last time, Stewart answered quickly saying, “most definitely.” Sunday he will have ample opportunities to prove it.
