Denver Broncos Week 15 Stock Report

The Denver Broncos suffered an embarrassing loss to the Oakland Raiders in Week 14. The Broncos went into halftime with a 12-0 lead, but 15 unanswered points from the Raiders in the second half gave them the win. Now, the Broncos have to pick up the pieces and move on.

Instead of owning the No. 1 seed in the AFC, the Broncos now find themselves tied with the Cincinnati Bengals with three losses this year. The New England Patriots have clawed back to the top spot in the conference with the playoffs just three weeks away. Needless to say, the Broncos need to win out in order to guarantee they have a bye week in the first week of the playoffs.

This week, the team travels to play the Pittsburgh Steelers. While the Steelers defense isn’t as strong as it traditionally is, the offense may be the best in the league. Pittsburgh has won four out of its last five games and has scored 30 or more points in each of those contests.

Broncos head coach Gary Kubiak knows the Steelers are going to present a tough challenge: “The thing about this team is they're balanced. They've got three guys that can really get down the field and make big plays. It's not about one player. Then the tight end is back. [Steelers TE] Heath [Miller] is back and making a lot of plays on third down.”

Kubiak continued: “They're throwing it all over the place. [Steelers QB] Ben Roethlisberger is probably—I think Ben may be the best deep-ball thrower I've ever seen in this league in my years as a coach. They're getting it down the field. They are very powerful right now and playing really well as a team.”

As with every week, there are players who are on the rise. There are also players who are struggling for various reasons.

Here is the stock report for the Broncos as they head into Week 15.

Stock Up: CB Chris Harris Jr.

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The Broncos have arguably the best corner in the game in Chris Harris Jr. An undrafted free agent in 2011 out of Kansas, Harris has worked diligently to develop his game and become a Pro Bowl player. It’s been two years since Harris gave up a touchdown catch, and the last time a receiver was able to score with Harris on him was Week 12 of the 2013 season.

Against the Raiders, Harris spent most of his time covering rookie Amari Cooper. Earlier this year, Cooper had flashed superstar potential, but he literally did nothing against Harris. Cooper was targeted eight times by his quarterback Derek Carr but caught none of those passes. Harris finished the game against the Raiders with four tackles and one pass defensed.

Like all great cornerbacks, Harris has a short memory. The defense certainly isn’t to blame for the loss to the Raiders, but he has moved on anyway.

“It’s a done deal," he said. "We watched the film, turned the page and now it’s over. Now we’re just focused on Pittsburgh and what we have to do to get this win. It’s a pivotal game for us to bounce back. I think that we can do it.”

This week against wide receiver Antonio Brown is going to be a great test for Harris. Brown plays with plenty of savvy, and he’ll work to get open against Harris on short and crossing routes. Harris will have to be on his A-game to slow down (not shut down) Brown, and his performance against Brown will be one of the biggest factors as to whether or not the Broncos win the game.

No pressure, Harris.

Stock Down: WR Emmanuel Sanders

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We’ve seen the numbers for Emmanuel Sanders drop off in recent weeks. In the Week 12 victory over the New England Patriots, he had six catches for 113 yards. Since that game, he has been targeted 14 times in two weeks but has only hauled in five passes for 36 yards combined.

Against the Raiders, quarterback Brock Osweiler threw a season-high 51 passes but only connected with Sanders twice for 17 yards. And that’s not the only part of the game where Sanders struggled last Sunday.

As a return man, Sanders made a crucial mistake that was part of the reason why the Raiders were able to come back and win in Week 14. Three plays into the fourth quarter, holding a 12-9 lead, the Broncos forced the Raiders to punt. Sanders was back as the return man, but he muffed the punt, and the Raiders recovered. Oakland then scored the go-ahead touchdown on the following drive.

Sanders, a third-round pick of the Steelers in the 2010 NFL draft, is looking forward to going back to Pittsburgh.

“I'm looking forward to it," he said. "It's going to be fun. It's going to be different. I spent four years over there. It was definitely a blessing. [Steelers head] Coach [Mike] Tomlin and the Rooneys, they gave me my opportunity in the National Football League, so I'm forever thankful for that.”

With a return to the place where his career started, Sanders knows this game is huge for the team’s postseason outlook.

“Every game down the stretch is going to be a big game," he said. "We all know it. It's playoff football right now. We have to handle business. Obviously, we dropped an egg versus Oakland, and we had an opportunity to be first place in the AFC.”

Sanders continued: “We dropped an egg, like I said, so what can we do about it? We can't do anything. We can't carry that luggage. We can only move forward. It's on to Pittsburgh.”

We’ll see if the Broncos can pass this test in what should feel like a playoff game Sunday.

Stock Up: CB Aqib Talib

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Like Harris, Talib is one of the best corners in the game. The two played opposite each other in college at Kansas, and they have provided the Broncos with quite the dynamic duo over the last two seasons.

Talib felt only a few plays were the difference against the Raiders.

“Just too many mistakes," he said. "We made about five terrible plays to hurt us, and they made about five good plays all game that really helped them. That was kind of the story of the game.”

In the Raiders game, Talib was mostly tasked with covering wide receiver Michael Crabtree. The veteran receiver only managed four catches for 19 yards against the Broncos.

This week, Talib will likely go up against Martavis Bryant. Like Talib, Bryant is a long, lean player who is aggressive when the ball is in the air. This one-on-one battle is going to be strength against strength.

Bryant is big and can play above the rim. He naturally high-points catches as they are coming in, and he has a long wingspan that keeps defenders at bay.

In addition to strength, wingspan and leaping ability, Bryant has incredible speed. He can get on top of a defense in the blink of an eye, so Talib must be cautious that he doesn’t give up a big play on a long pass to Bryant.

Stock Down: Offensive Line

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There’s no sugar-coating it: The Broncos offensive line is the weakest spot on the team. Raiders defensive end Khalil Mack had five sacks in Week 14 against the Broncos, and he made it look easy against a weak Broncos offensive line.

The Raiders didn’t have to send extra defenders to get after Osweiler. The Broncos quarterback was only blitzed on 6.9 percent of his dropbacks in Week 14, yet he felt pressure 25.9 percent of the time he went back to pass.

Right tackle Michael Schofield knows the team must get better up front.

“I think it's everyone. We all need to execute, especially me," he said. "That was definitely probably one of my worst games of all time. We need to execute every play. Everyone needs to do his job. That's what we've got to get back to.”

The Steelers defense may not be what it used to be, but it still ranks fifth-best in the league in sacks. The Steelers have snared opposing quarterbacks 38 times this year. That’s only six fewer than the Broncos’ league-leading total of 44 entering Week 15.

If the Broncos want to be better on third downs and extend drives, then they will need to do a better job of protecting Osweiler. This is perhaps the biggest key to victory Sunday.

Stock Up: DE Derek Wolfe

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The Broncos have had some linebacker injuries to deal with as the season has gone on. Guys such as DeMarcus Ware and Shane Ray have missed some time, and the team has greatly benefited from the play of the defensive line during their absence. Defensive end Derek Wolfe has been especially productive.

Wolfe knows that Roethlisberger is going to be a handful Sunday.

“It's unique because he's so big," Wolfe said. "He's such a big guy. You've got to wrap him up and you've got to really roll with him and get him to the ground. You're not going to arm tackle a guy like that.”

Roethlisberger holds a special place in Wolfe’s memory from earlier in his pro career.

“Yeah, my first sack in the NFL my rookie year was against Big Ben," he said. "I got him around the leg and brought him down, but there were a couple other times where I had my hands on him and I couldn't bring him down. He's definitely a tough guy to get down.”

Interior pressure is going to be important against Roethlisberger. He’s smart enough to anticipate outside pressure, and he has the quick release to get rid of the ball in a hurry. Roethlisberger is also big enough to push through defenders who are coming around the edge at full speed.

If Wolfe and Malik Jackson can pinch Roethlisberger from the inside, it will help the pass rush Sunday.

All quotes and injury/practice observations obtained firsthand. Record/statistical information provided via the Broncos' media department unless otherwise noted. Advanced stats via ESPN's employees-only database.

Contract and salary-cap information provided by Spotrac. Transaction history provided by Pro Sports Transactions.