The Denver Broncos took advantage of multiple Pittsburgh Steelers miscues on Sunday, and a Shelby Harris interception late sealed the victory, as Denver beat Pittsburgh 24-17 at Broncos Stadium at Mile High.
The Broncos ignited a fire into the Mile High crowd early when Justin Simmons hurdled the Steelers offensive line on a field goal attempt on the first Pittsburgh drive. It’s the third game this year and fourth blocked kick this year by Denver, which leads the NFL and is twice as much as the next-closest team. It’s the most blocked kicks they’ve recorded since the 2002.
Denver capitalized after the block when on the next possession, a 29-yard completion from Case Keenum to Jeff Heuerman which put Denver in position for points. Later, they got three more on a Brandon McManus 41-yard field goal. Denver led 3-0 after the first quarter.
On the initial drive in the second quarter for the Steelers, Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger found Xavier Grimble for what appeared to be an easy touchdown reception. Met by Will Parks at the goal line, the impact of the tackle forced Grimble to fumble out of bounds, giving Denver the football back.
How about them 2016 #Broncos draft class safeties?
Justin Simmons takes three points away from #Pittsburgh.
Will Parks takes six points away from Pittsburgh.— Ronnie (@RonnieKRadio) November 25, 2018
Later in the second quarter, Denver’s offense began to fire on all cylinders, trotting down the field and scoring a touchdown on a 10-yard touchdown pass to Matt LaCosse. The drive covered 75 yards in six plays to put Denver ahead 10-3. But Pittsburgh was back on the response.
Roethlisberger responded with a 12-play, 73-yard drive that started out of the 4-minute offense. Pittsburgh reached the 2-yard line, however, was stuffed by the Broncos defense, settling for a field goal. Or, so 75,000+ at Mile High Stadium thought.
Mike Tomlin called a fake field goal and kicker Chris Boswell hit Alejandro Villanueva in the end zone for the touchdown and the halftime tie at 10.
The Steelers hit the gas pedal coming out of the locker room with a 97-yard touchdown from Roethlisberger to Juju Smith-Schuster. The touchdown was the longest touchdown pass of the year for the Steelers and put Denver down 17-10 after the Broncos breakdown on defense.
Broncos cornerback Bradley Roby couldn’t handle Smith-Schuster on the reception and 30 yards after the catch, Smith-Schuster’s broken tackle of Darian Stewart was the last man beat before strutting into the end zone.
After a Denver punt, the Steelers got the ball back up 17-10 with an opportunity to drive a potential dagger into the game, but Roethlisberger was intercepted by Chris Harris Jr. The Broncos turned the interception into points when Keenum hit Emmanuel Sanders on a rolling right crossing route to the back of the south end zone for six, McManus’s extra point tied the game at 17.
After both teams traded possessions back-and-forth, Denver got the football back off a fumble by Steelers running back James Conner. Roby’s hit jarred the football loose and Stewart recovered.
Denver, once again off a turnover, went right down the field on an 11-play, 79-yard touchdown drive ending in a Phillip Lindsay touchdown run. A drive that took 5:43 off the clock to give Denver a 24-17 lead. Lindsay finished the game with 14 carries for 110 yards and a touchdown.
After trading possessions, Roethlisberger and the Steelers offense trotted onto the field with 4:36 left, needing a touchdown to tie and with only one time out to work with. The Steelers got the goal line looking to tie the game when Shelby Harris intercepted Roethlisberger on third-and-goal to seal the victory. It was the Steelers fourth turnover of the game.
Keenum finished with 15-28 for 197 yards passing and two touchdowns. Keenum’s top target — Emmanuel Sanders — caught seven receptions for 86 yards receiving and a touchdown.
Broncos tight ends were also heavily involved in the game. Matt LaCosse and Jeff Heuerman combined for five receptions, 78 yards receiving and a touchdown.
Keenum’s counterpart Ben Roethlisberger finished the game with a game-high 462 yards passing and two touchdowns. His two interceptions however proved largely in the game’s result. Denver came into Sunday only a game out of the final wild card spot.
What’s Next:
Denver will travel to Cincinnati on on Sunday, Dec. 2 to open up the final month of regular season play. The Bengals (5-6) are coming off a loss to the Cleveland Browns.