Doug Pensinger/Getty Images
We are now at the halfway point of the season.
Since opening the season 1-2, the Steelers have gone undefeated to give themselves a legitimate shot at the third straight AFC North title.
The Steelers are tied with the Cincinnati Bengals with a 5-2 record, but the Bengals currently own the tiebreaker by virtue of a home win over the Steelers in Week Three.
We are currently in the month of November which is the time of year that can make or break a football team gunning for the playoffs. This also means that its time to see just how good the Super Bowl Champions really are.
Although offensively the Steelers have prevailed in big plays, the defense is still struggling at putting teams away, especially in the fourth quarter.
Next Up: Broncos Take on the Steelers
Coming off a bye, the (5-2) Steelers will face the (6-1) Denver Broncos.
The Broncos suffered their first defeat of the season at the hands of the Baltimore Ravens 30-7.
Baltimore (4-3) limited Denver to 200 yards, scored off the game's lone turnover, won the special teams fight and outscored the Broncos 24-7 in the second half.
Denver's offense posted a season-low 200 yards last week, going scoreless in the first half for the first time this season.
Baltimore held wide receivers Eddie Royal and Brandon Marshall to under 35 yards receiving and QB Kyle Orton from throwing a touchdown.
In addition, the Ravens became the first team this season to rush for more than 100 yards against the No. 1 Denver defense.
The Denver Broncos will host the Pittsburgh Steelers Monday night.
Will History Repeat Itself?
October 21, 2007 was the last meeting of these two teams with the Broncos defeating the Steelers (31-28) by the foot of K Jason Elam.
Although QB Jay Cutler is no longer at the helm, wide receivers Brandon Stokely and Brandon Marshall are still on the roster and combined 147 yards receiving and one touchdown that October.
Now, the offense is run by former Chicago Bears QB Kyle Orton.
In the first half of the season, Orton has been playing efficient ball, averaging 231 yards passing, at least one touchdown per game, with only one interception.
With an aggressive defense, the Steelers typically force its opponent to rely on underneath routes, and Orton is very efficient from zero to ten yards.
That being said, the Broncos like throwing in a lot of screens, to mask Orton’s inability to stretch the field.
Wide receiver Brandon Marshall's numbers are down though he is on pace for 75 catches and 814 yards.
Steelers' Defensive Woes
The Steeler defense has not performed as well as overall as it did in 2008 when it dominated the NFL (No.1) in nearly every category except rush defense (No.2).
But the defense will still attempt to stop the run first without defensive end Aaron Smith (torn right rotator cuff).
To make matters worse, defensive end Travis Kirschke, who replaced Smith, suffered a torn left calf muscle in the victory over Minnesota.
Nick Eason, Brett Keisel's backup at right defensive end will move to the left side, while rookies Evander "Ziggy" Hood and RaShon "Sunny" Harris are expected to get plenty of playing time.
Linebacker Lawrence Timmons (ankle) is listed as questionable which could put a strain in the middle of the defense against the Broncos dink-and-dunk passing attack.
Injuries Galore: Will they hinder?
Linebacker Keyaron Fox will make his third start at inside linebacker if Timmons does not play. As a special-teams' co-captain, Fox remains the leader on the field with 12 tackles.
Free Safety Ryan Clark will not play because of complications due to his sickle cell disease. But, Tyrone Carter, with possible help from Ryan Mundy, will replace him.
How will the Steelers fare against the Broncos come Monday?
The Steelers, who haven't allowed a 100-yard rusher in their last 25 regular-season games, led the league in run defense at 76.6 yards per game and held the Vikings' Adrian Peterson’s running game to 89 yards.
We're going to send you the most entertaining Pittsburgh Steelers articles, videos, and podcasts from around the web.
6 Comments
Loading more comments...
This comment and all replies have been deleted This comment has been deleted Undo delete