An amazing stat, and an amazing fact, is that no Denver Bronco has ever thrown for over 300 yards against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The Steelers have traditionally had one of the league's best defenses since the vaunted Steel Curtain.

It's an amazing statistic, however, that not even Denver QB John Elway could reach the 300-yard mark.

Up until the merger of the AFL and NFL, both Pittsburgh and Denver were considered perennial dogs in their respective leagues.

Even though the AFL and NFL had hooked up in the first three Super Bowls, they were two entirely separate leagues and, as such, their respective teams never played one another outside of the Super Bowl.

For the first season of the AFL-NFL merger in 1970, the Denver Broncos hosted the Pittsburgh Steelers in week two.

The Broncos held their own against the earliest version of the Steel Curtain.

A team that had Terry Bradshaw, L.C. Greenwood, and "Mean" Joe Greene lost to the Broncos, 16-13.

Denver finished the season 5-8-1, good for third in the AFC West, while the Steelers finished the season 5-9-0 and also finished third in their division.

Much in the way they have historically owned the series against the Boston/New England Patriots, the Denver Broncos also own the series against the Pittsburgh Steelers with a 16-9-1 advantage.

The Broncos won the first three games of this match-up.

1970: Denver 16 Pittsburgh 13
1971: Denver 22 Pittsburgh 10
1973: Denver 23 Pittsburgh 13

While the Broncos can boast of having the first starting African-American quarterback (Marlon Briscoe) in the NFL, the Steelers also helped open the avenue of opportunity for African-American athletes.

Perhaps one of the most forgotten heroes in Steelers lore is backup quarterback Joe Gilliam, who had to sub in for an erratic Terry Bradshaw during the 1974 season.

Gilliam threw for 348 yards against the Broncos.

The Broncos led 21-14 at halftime in this classic game, but needed to come from behind with a late scoring drive to send the game into overtime.

The game ended in a tie 35-35 following the sudden death period.

Later that season the Steelers arrived nationally by winning their first championship over the Minnesota Vikings 16-6 in Super Bowl IX.

The Steelers' draft class of 1974 is also regarded as the best draft class of all-time.

Check out the video link below.

http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-game-highlights/09000d5d802234f0/Top-Ten-Draft-Classes-1974-Pittsburgh-Steelers

Photo: Lynn Swann makes one of the most memorable catches in NFL history during Super Bowl X.

The Pittsburgh Steelers had officially reached the NFL peak and decided to go for the gusto by repeating in 1975.

The Steelers beat the Broncos 20-9 at Three Rivers in Pittsburgh before winning their second championship in a row against the Dallas Cowboys.

Pittsburgh Steelers 21
Dallas Cowboys 17

In Denver, the mere mention of 1977 always evokes special memories of a special moment in time. This match-up also reached the big time for the first time on Christmas Eve 1977.

The Broncos had never made the playoffs before going 12-2 during the 1977 regular season.

That season would put them into their first Super Bowl and gave them their first AFC Championship.

The Broncos' vaunted Orange Crush defense has historical numbers that rate among the top three defenses of all-time, however the Steel Curtain is still regarded as the NFL's best defense.

In 1977, the Broncos beat the Steelers not once, but twice.

In the regular season match-up in Denver the Broncos won 21-7.

The Broncos then beat the two-time Super Bowl winning Pittsburgh Steelers team in the divisional playoffs 34-21.

The Broncos then would go on to play the defending Super Bowl champion Oakland Raiders in the AFC Championship 20-17.

The Broncos would later lose Super Bowl XII to the Dallas Cowboys 27-10.

It was a match filled with controversy and signs of game fixing.

Leading up to that game it was well documented that a number of Broncos players had received death threats earlier in the week.

The Broncos were also plagued by key injuries to the offensive line and to starting QB Craig Morton leading up to XII.

It spoke volumes about the strength of the Broncos that they still had a chance to win the game.

It was by far their worst outing of their miracle season.

It took nearly a full year before the Broncos and Steelers hooked up again.

By the time the two teams played in the last game of the regular season both knew they would probably be playing one another in the first round of the playoffs.

The Broncos had home field advantage for their final home game, which they probably should have won and still serves as one of the franchise's worst regular season losses.

The Steelers came to Mile High Stadium and put a solid physical effort on the Broncos.

Pittsburgh had apparently iced the game by halftime with a 21-0 lead.

A late touchdown pass from the Broncos backup quarterback-turned-starter Norris Weese to TE Riley Odoms put the them within reach late in the game.

The Broncos got the ball back with time running out and Weese threw a pass into the end zone intended for the speedy Rick Upchurch.

A clear pass interference penalty in the end zone put the ball on the Steelers one-yard line with time running out.

The Broncos were out of timeouts and a field goal would not win the game; Denver had to score a touchdown.

Today's NFL would more than likely see better play calling than what happened at the time for the Broncos.

There was pride and confusion in the mix between Weese and the Broncos head coach and offensive coordinator.

After failing to complete passes into the end zone for the score, the Broncos staff called for a running play. Weese urgently began signaling for another play with his arms in a rolling motion as the play clock wound down.

The Broncos ran the ball, were stuffed at the one, and lost the game 21-17 as time ran out.

Two weeks later, this caused a playoff re-match of these two teams to occur in Pittsburgh, instead of in Denver.

It swung the momentum of the series, and the Steelers found a way to reach the Super Bowl again.

The Broncos were pasted 33-10 in the Divisional Playoff game at Three Rivers Stadium.

The Steelers eventually won their third Super Bowl ring, again beating the Dallas Cowboys 35-31.

By 1979 the Broncos were dropping off the map a bit and finished second in the AFC West to the San Diego Chargers.

The Broncos had a respectable record at 10-6, however they lost key games to Pittsburgh, Oakland, and San Diego.

The Steelers beat the Broncos that season 42-7 in Pittsburgh.

The Steelers wound up in the Super Bowl again and beat the Los Angeles Rams 31-19.

That made it four championships in six years for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

If not for the Oakland Raiders and the Denver Broncos it's very possible that the Steelers could have won six consecutive Super Bowls.

In 1983 John Elway arrived on the scene in Denver.

His first regular season game came against Jack Lambert and the Pittsburgh Steelers in Denver's opener.

Even though Elway had to be relieved by veteran Steve DeBerg, the Broncos were clearly on their way up and the Steel Curtain was on its way down.

John Elway has stated on an NFL Films interview that during the game he took verbal abuse from the Steelers defense and started praying to God that if He wanted all the money and fame back, He could have it.

Terry Bradshaw was among early critics of Elway due to his stance against the Baltimore Colts, their owner, and his million dollar contract at a time when that money was unheard of.

Elway's contract was one of the very first to put an NFL player into a new tax bracket.

The final score of Elway's first game:

Denver Broncos 14
Pittsburgh Steelers 10

It was a game that saw John Elway take a physical beating.

The game saw Mark Malone lead the Steelers to 384 total yards while the Steeler defense held Elway and the Broncos to 250 total yards.

The Broncos saw this as a wasted opportunity having attained a 13-3 regular season record, second best in the AFC, and bounced out of the playoffs in the first round.

Denver Broncos 17
Pittsburgh Steelers 24

The Steelers were thumped the following week in the AFC Championship by the Miami Dolphins 45-28.

A strike between the NFL and its players hit in 1982.

Another work stoppage caused the Broncos to lose out on a playoff spot as one of the best teams in football.

The Broncos missed the playoffs the same year the NFL saw a losing team in the Cleveland Browns reach the playoffs.

The Broncos final regular season record was 11-5, good for second in the AFC West.

The Steelers also missed the playoffs that season with a 7-9 record, tied with Cleveland but lost the tie-breaker after the two teams split their home and away series that year.

Denver Broncos 31
Pittsburgh Steelers 23

The Denver Broncos won a tightly contested ball game against the Los Angeles Raiders 38-36 to start the 1986 season.

It was a season with high expectations for John Elway and the rising Broncos after previously falling short in the AFC.

The Broncos beat the Steelers in Pittsburgh in the second game of the season 21-10 on Monday Night Football.

That seemed to set the tone as the Broncos started 6-0, finishing 11-5, and beat New England in the Divisional Round.

The Broncos followed that up with "The Drive": A 23-20 overtime thriller and one of the greatest games of all-time.

The Broncos faced the New York Giants in Super Bowl XXI and played well in the first half but failed to capitalized inside the 20 yard line.

Had the Broncos scored the touchdowns they should have it probably would have been a different game. As it ended up the Broncos lost 39-20 in a second-half blowout to the Giants.

Pttsburgh and Denver did not play in 1987 when the Broncos made a return trip to the Super Bowl and lost in a blowout to Washington 42-10.

The Broncos had complained after the loss to the local media that they were feeling burned out after trying so hard for so long and falling short of a championship.

The following season the Broncos fell into mediocrity as they were blown out often.

The Broncos lost at Three Rivers Stadium that season 39-21, but the Steelers wound up at an even worse 5-11 record compared to the Broncos' 8-8.

The Denver Broncos got serious in 1989 and made a return trip to the Super Bowl.

That Season the Broncos were blown out 55-10 in the worst Super Bowl loss in the history of the game at that time.

The Broncos finished 11-5 that season and had a decent defense heading into the game against San Francisco.

Earlier in the year, the Broncos beat the Steelers twice: once in the regular season and once in the first round of the playoffs.

The Broncos blew out the Steelers 34-7 in week seven to go 5-2 on the season.

The Broncos later edged the Steelers in a very physical football game during the Divisional Playoff game 24-23.

Pittsburgh and Denver struggled to get back to their winning ways in the early 1990s.

Denver fired Dan Reeves and Wade Phillips while the Steelers were now under Bill Cowher's reign.

Cowher found it challenging to fill the shoes of a legendary coach and follow-up the legacy those teams left behind.

The scores from that era were:

Pittsburgh 30 {1990 at Mile High}
Denver 17

Denver 20 {1991 at Mile High}
Pittsburgh 13

Denver 37 {1993 at Mile High}
Pittsburgh 13

After losing in the playoffs over a string of years the Steelers survived a last ditch effort (see photo) by Colt QB Jim Harbaugh to reach the 1995-96 Super Bowl.

The Steelers eventually lost to the Cowboys in the Super Bowl 27-17.

Quite possibly the very best game these two teams played against one another came in the 1997-98 AFC Championship Game, played in Pittsburgh at old Three Rivers Stadium.

The Steelers had beaten the Broncos earlier that season 35-24, which decided the home field advantage throughout the playoffs.

That loss helped solidified the Broncos run of revenge against teams with which they had scores to settle.

In the Wild Card round Denver hosted the Jacksonville Jaguars, who had knocked the Broncos out of the playoffs the previous season.

The Broncos had solidified home-field advantage throughout the playoffs and were clearly the best team in the AFC in 1996.

The Broncos lost that divisional playoff game to the Jaguars 30-27, but settled the score in the 1997 Wild Card playoff round, defeating the Jaguars 42-17 in one of the coldest games of all-time.

Additionally the Broncos had two rushers over the 100-yard mark with Terrell Davis going for two touchdowns and Derrik Loville rushing for 103 yards on 11 carries and two TDs.

The Broncos then went on to Kansas City to avenge a previous loss.

In the regular season the Chiefs beat Denver 24-22 on a game ending field goal that put them in control of the AFC West division title.

In the Playoffs the Broncos went to Kansas City and gutted out a 14-10 victory that came down to the final moments.

That victory landed the Broncos in Pittsburgh to exact their revenge against the Steelers.

The Broncos controlled much of the tempo that day, however the Steelers had a late run that pushed the Broncos to the brink and nearly stole the victory.

The final score was Broncos 24, Steelers 21.

The victory propelled Denver onto their fifth Super Bowl where they faced the Green Bay Packers.

The Broncos eventually went on to win the title 31-24, in one of the better Super Bowls of all-time.

In 2003 the Steelers and Broncos hooked up again. It was the first time since John Elway came into the league that the Broncos had faced the Steelers.

Pittsburgh went 6-10 that season while the Broncos went 10-6 and finished second in the AFC West.

Denver beat the Steelers by a final score of 17-14.

The Broncos were eventually bounced out of the first round of the playoffs by Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts 41-10.

Pittsburgh had the best record in the AFC in 2004, but lost the AFC Championship game at home 41-27, to the upstart and eventual back-to-back world champion New England Patriots.

In 2005 the Broncos and the Steelers faced off in the AFC Championship.

The Steelers got there on a miracle after Jerome Bettis nearly fumbled away his last chance at a Super Bowl Championship at Indianapolis.

The Broncos ended New England's back-to-back Championship run in Denver with a phenomenal team effort that finished in dominating fashion.

It seemed as though the stars were aligning for the Broncos, who appeared to be the better-coached team under Mike Shanahan.

Coach Bill Cowher started to relinquish some control to his coaches and it seemed to be paying off during the season.

Eventually in the AFC Championship it was the Steelers whom appeared to be the better-coached team.

An early missed interception by Denver DB Champ Bailey popped high into the air and was caught by Steelers receiver Heinz Ward.

That play seemed to dictate the direction of the rest of the day.

The Broncos failed to protect Jake Plummer and to make defensive adjustments.

The Steelers then became the clear team of destiny and took the game from the Broncos in Denver.

Pittsburgh Steelers 34
Denver Broncos 17

The Broncos clearly did not bring the same effort they had against New England into the game against Pittsburgh.

Give credit to the Steelers for seizing the opportunity.

The Steelers eventually won their fifth Super Bowl and "One For The Thumb."

In 2006, Jake Plummer guided the Broncos to a hard-fought victory in Pittsburgh as the Broncos won 31-20.

However, by season's end the Broncos finished 9-7, and Plummer was no longer the QB.

In 2007, the Broncos beat the Steelers on a Sunday night 31-28.

The Broncos finished 7-9, missing the postseason, while Pittsburgh was upset in the playoffs by Jacksonville 31-29.

Without a doubt this is a rivalry that is among the best the NFL has to offer.

Incredibly enough it is the most underrated match-up.

Denver is under new Coach Josh McDaniels and has lead the team to a surprising 6-1 start.

The Steelers come to Denver at 5-2.

The Steelers are the defending Super Bowl Champions yet again, but the Denver Broncos own the series lead at 16-9-1, an amazing feat for a team that has four fewer Super Bowl Championships.

Both teams have combined for an amazing 13 Super Bowl appearances through 43 Super Bowls.

Additionally, the Broncos and Steelers have lost a handful of AFC Championships, including one each to the opposing team.

Check back tomorrow for an additional slide and breakdown of the upcoming game.

It will be enough to wet any appetite and ask, "Are you ready for some football?"