LVPs

Broncos cornerback Chris Harris Jr. hadn’t been scored on in two years. His play had been impeccable each and every week this season but Sunday he came up against arguably the best receiver in the NFL. It was a highly-touted matchup and Brown ultimately changed the game. In the first half it seemed like he was working tremendously hard for every reception, but in the second half he got loose often on Harris and was the biggest part of the Steelers comeback. After the loss Harris placed the blame on his shoulders.

“It was the best versus the best and he won. I have not given up a touchdown in two years. The way I played was very disappointing, and I let my team down. He [Brown] is a good receiver. He’s the best receiver in the game right now. I just did not make any plays today.”

Despite Brown’s talent and numbers, it was extremely surprising to see Harris get beat so badly. After the win Brown said, “There’s no stopping me,” and Sunday he proved it. His 16 catches for 189 yards and two touchdowns solidified his greatness this season. Later in his press conference he had humbler words about his performance.

“If you play this game long enough, you’re going to get your tail kicked at least once. Obviously it was a great matchup today. We got the better of the matchup and won the game. That’s all that’s important,” he said of his match up with Harris.

Runner up: Brock Osweiler also deserves a heavy amount of blame. Last week he played well except in the red zone where he missed on touchdown opportunities multiple times. In the first half Sunday he had no such issues. In the second half he looked much like he did versus the Oakland Raiders. He was off target and simply could not manage the game and keep up with the Steelers. He also forced a late interception to Ryan Shazier that almost immediately led to the Steelers go-ahead touchdown. His postgame comments reminded viewers that he is still learning on the run after just his fifth start in the NFL.

“You think you have some time then before you know it there’s some color in your face. So, that’s one of those things I’ll watch on the tape,” he said “I think it’s a big learning curve for me to decide when to take off, when to throw it down the field, and when it’s time to throw it away. That’s something that I will learn while watching this tape.”

Email Sam at sam@milehighsports.com and follow him on Twitter @SamCowhick.