No. 2 – Ben Roethlisberger & Antonio Brown
Antonio Brown has continued his All-Pro caliber play, piling up 1,192 yards in 11 games this year. He’s second in the league to Atlanta’s Julio Jones in receiving yards. Perhaps the most promising thing about his season this year, as far as the Broncos defense is concerned, is that he’s been held under 100 yards on five occasions, despite averaging 108.4 yards per game.
Last week Seattle held him to 51 yards and six catches on 12 targets. Denver will need the same effort from Chris Harris, who should draw the matchup with the speedy, 5-foot-10 Brown. Expect the Denver safeties to provide lots of help over the top as well.
Injuries have slowed Ben Roethlisberger this year, and continue to do so late into the season. Big Ben left Sunday’s game against Seattle with a head injury and is questionable this week against the Colts. But he has three weeks to get healthy before a Dec. 20 meeting with the Broncos. Sitting at 6-5 and battling Indianapolis (and Houston, Kansas City and the Jets) for a Wild Card spot, every game is an important one for Pittsburgh at this point. They get no relief with Indy this week, followed by Cincinnati and then Denver.
Mike Brown has had success with his backups, Michael Vick and Landry Jones, who are 3-2 in relief of Roethlisberger. Still, if he can clear concussion protocol, expect Big Ben to play against the Colts in a must-win game. Denver will be hoping for a rough-and-tumble game between the Steelers and Bengals in Week 14, as they play both teams in the two weeks that follow.
Regardless of who is throwing him the ball, whether it be Roethlisberger, Vick or Jones, Denver must find a way to contain Brown, especially in Pittsburgh, to avoid a stumble in Week 15.
