Denver Broncos vs. Pittsburgh Steelers: Denver Grades, Notes and Quotes

The Denver Broncos have dropped back-to-back games, and both have been in the same disappointing fashion.

Much like last week against the Oakland Raiders, the Broncos fell flat in the second half despite a successful first half. Denver took a 27-10 lead into halftime against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday but never scored again.

The Steelers rallied to score 24 unanswered points behind a solid passing offense led by quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and wide receiver Antonio Brown to claim the 34-27 victory. Roethlisberger threw for 380 yards on the day, while Brown caught 16 passes for 189 yards and two touchdowns.  

Denver can find blame in the entire team for this loss. Dropped balls plagued the offense again, but the fact it couldn't slow the Pittsburgh passing attack was the key factor.

The Broncos must regroup before heading back home for an important game in Week 16 against the Cincinnati Bengals. A first-round playoff bye could be at stake in that one.

But before we look ahead, let's delve into this game a little further. Read on for game grades for each positional unit and more.

Positional Grades

Fred Vuich/Associated Press

Quarterback: C+

Brock Osweiler looked solid in the first half. He was getting good protection, making good throws and making proper decisions. He threw three first-half touchdowns. The second half was a much different story. The 25-year-old looked rattled, and when he did find his target, the ball was dropped. He threw one costly interception and was fortunate not to have more.

Running Back: C

The Denver rushing attack was ineffective once again, forcing the Broncos to put the ball in the air 44 times. Ronnie Hillman ran for just 48 yards on 14 carries.

Wide Receiver: B

Emmanuel Sanders waited to face his former team before having arguably his best game as a Bronco. Sanders caught 11 passes for 181 yards and a touchdown. Demaryius Thomas added two scores, but he also had a costly drop.

In the waning moments of the game, Osweiler seemed to be locked on Sanders. Has he lost trust in some of his other targets? That's a problem.

Tight End: D

It remains a surprise to see a team led by head coach Gary Kubiak get so little out of the tight end position. It's also troubling to see the play of Vernon Davis, who looked afraid to be hit on one of his drops. 

Why isn't Denver giving Virgil Green more of a chance in the passing game?

Offensive Line: B-

The pass protection wasn't exceptional in this game, but it provided Osweiler enough time to find his receivers on most plays. Pittsburgh only managed two sacks.

It's hard to knock the play of the offensive line in the running game as well. Denver averaged 4.2 yards per carry in Sunday's contest.

Defensive Line: A-

Malik Jackson played another great game. He had two sacks and was responsible for collapsing the pocket on more than one play. DeAngelo Williams was held to just 26 yards rushing on 14 carries, as the line got a good push more often than not. 

Linebackers: B-

Danny Trevathan and Brandon Marshall had solid performances, making good tackles in the open field. Marshall had a big interception late in the game, but Denver couldn't make Roethlisberger and the Steelers pay for throwing it.

Von Miller was kept quiet, notching just one tackle. He was also flagged for a neutral-zone infraction.

Secondary: D

It has been quite a while since a team has been able to take advantage of the Broncos secondary the way Pittsburgh did. It allowed Roethlisberger to complete 40 passes, and it couldn't slow down Brown. Chris Harris hadn't had a passing touchdown scored against him in two years, and Brown did it twice in one game.

The Broncos appear to miss T.J. Ward and Darian Stewart badly.

Special Teams: C

With Omar Bolden out, the Broncos used Andre Caldwell and Jordan Norwood to return kicks. Neither had much success, but Cody Latimer was able to gain 27 yards on a reverse on a kick return.

Brandon McManus missed an extra point following Denver's third touchdown.

Coaching: C

It appeared the Broncos had a perfect game plan in the first half. But for the third week in a row, Denver failed to score a single point in the second half.

The coaching staff needs to work on sustaining momentum. The team could easily be 12-2 instead of 10-4 if it played even a little bit better in the second half of the last two games.

Important Note No. 1: Brock Osweiler Leaves Briefly

Don Wright/Associated Press

Prior to the end of the first half, Osweiler came out of the game with an apparent injury to his non-throwing shoulder, as reported by Ben Swanson of the team's official website.

Though the injury likely had many Denver fans holding their collective breath, Osweiler was able to return to the game.

Backup quarterback Trevor Siemian, a seventh-round draft pick out of Northwestern, was able to take the first official snap of his career.

Siemian came in on the last play of the first half, performing a kneeldown.

Important Note No. 2: Denver's Lead Reduced to 1 Game

Rob Leiter/Getty Images

Don't look now, but the red-hot Kansas City Chiefs are suddenly just one game back in the AFC West division race.

Many fans may have thought it a foregone conclusion that the Broncos would be AFC West champions for a fifth year in a row following their win over the New England Patriots in Week 12. Since then, things have taken a drastic turn.

Kansas City has won eight games in a row and could win a tiebreaker over the Broncos if the teams finish the season with identical records.

That makes next week's game with Cincinnati extremely important.

Important Note No. 3: Back-to-Back Losses a Rarity

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For the second time this season, the Broncos have suffered back-to-back defeats. Earlier this year, the team dropped games to the Indianapolis Colts and Chiefs.

If you're scratching your head trying to recall the last time the Broncos lost back-to-back games in the regular season prior to that, it's because it's been a while.

The last time the Broncos lost two games in a row in the regular season before this year was during Peyton Manning's first year with the team. After a season-opening win over Pittsburgh that year, the Broncos lost in Weeks 2 and 3 to the Atlanta Falcons and Houston Texans.

Denver only lost one other game during that season, so it was able to right the ship. Of course, that was under a different coaching staff.

The current coaching staff will be challenged to turn things around in similar fashion.

Quote No. 1: Brock Osweiler Talks About 2nd-Half Struggles

Don Wright/Associated Press

Osweiler addressed the media following his team's defeat, and he was asked about Denver's performance in the first half compared to what took place in the second half.

"

Until I see the tape, obviously I won't really know what happened in the second half. Obviously as an offensive unit you can feel that you weren't moving the ball, you can feel that you weren't in a rhythm. In the first half, coach really preached to us all week long, each individual guy, do your job. Do your job and it's going to result in good things, and that's what happened in the first half. Until I can see the tape, I won't know what happened in the second half. Obviously it needs to be better, it needs to be fixed, and as a group, we will get it fixed.

"

There is no doubt about that. If Denver continues to play the way it has in the second half of games, things could get pretty depressing once the postseason starts.

Quote No. 2: Emmanuel Sanders Discusses a Frustrating Loss

Don Wright/Associated Press

Sanders spent the first four years of his career in Pittsburgh, and Sunday's game marked his first trip back. Though he performed well, it wasn't enough as the Broncos fell in defeat.

Sanders talked about the loss in the locker room following the game, per the team's official website:

"

That first half was fun. But we gotta figure out a way to carry that first half over to the second half. Like I said, we're a work in progress and we'll continue to work. All we can do is continue to move on, get back in the lab starting on Wednesday in practice and continuously try to improve. Obviously, the city of Pittsburgh, the Rooney's, Mike Tomlin, they've been so good to me. They drafted me in the third round, I'll forever feel grateful for that. It felt good to be back in front of Steeler Nation, waving the towels but I wish the result would have ended a lot better.

"

The Broncos didn't lose this game because of Sanders. His 11 catches for 181 yards, which included a 61-yard touchdown reception, paced the Broncos' early start.

Quote No. 3: Gary Kubiak Addresses the Media

Don Wright/Associated Press

During his postgame press conference, Kubiak addressed the media and talked mostly about the team's success in the first half followed by its utter failure in the second half. But he was also asked about a report that surfaced, per a tweet by NFL Media's Ian Rapoport, that said Peyton Manning has no interest in being the team's backup quarterback.

"Yeah, my mind's focused on the game, but that's sad to hear," the coach said. "Let me tell you what, hell no, no way. He's working his tail off to get back on the field, is what he's doing."

Manning reiterated that, calling the report "insulting," according to Jeff Legwold of ESPN.com.

That theory may be put to the test if and when Manning is ready to play again.