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Broncos Roundtable: Will Denver bounce back against Pittsburgh?

September 20, 2020

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Monday night did not end how the Broncos wanted. But thanks to a short week, Denver doesn’t have to wait long to get the taste of their two-point loss out of their mouth.

After wrapping up Week 1 close to midnight Tuesday morning, the Broncos got a quick week of practice in before heading out to Pittsburgh to play the Steelers on Sunday morning.

Will the Broncos thrive on the opportunity to avenge their loss quickly or will the short week be too big of an obstacle to overcome?

The DNVR Broncos Crew breaks it down.

WHO WILL HAVE THE BIGGEST BOUNCE-BACK PERFORMANCE?

Zac

Jerry Jeudy — Monday night wasn’t the first time I’ve witnessed Jerry Jeudy drop two passes in Orange & Blue. Less than a month ago, Denver’s first-round receiver let two passes slip through his hands during a single training camp practice. Instead of dwelling on the mistakes, the 21-year old finished practice with a beautiful toe-tapping touchdown catch and also plucked the ball out of the air 20 yards downfield on another pass.

While Jeudy has to wait six days before redeeming himself this time, he’ll show his resilience again on Sunday in Pittsburgh.

Despite the two disappointing drops, Jeudy still ended up as Denver’s second-most productive target through the air against the Titans bringing in four passes for 56 yards. Even then, he still didn’t feel like a major part of the gameplan. Expect that to change against the Steelers.

While it will only be his second-career NFL game, expect the 15th-overall pick to bounce back strong on Sunday.

Mase

Jerry Jeudy — Last year, Jeudy dropped a pair of passes in Alabama’s win over New Mexico State. He dropped just one pass in the next six games, according to numbers compiled by Pro Football Focus. Then he dropped three passes against LSU, but only had one drop in the next four contests to close his college career.

Jeudy’s overall drop rate isn’t much of a concern; in his final two years at Alabama, he dropped 11 of 155 potential receptions, a rate of one drop every 14.1 chances. The smart money says that games like the one Jeudy had Monday will be anomalies.

Ryan

Justin Simmons — If you weren’t looking closely, you may not have even noticed the former second-team All-Pro safety on the field Monday night, but he was out there, just having a very uncharacteristic game for his standards. Maybe he was pressing due to his contract situation, maybe it was a bad matchup, or maybe it just wasn’t his day, but the Broncos need more from Simmons

This Broncos team is built around dynamic duos. They’ve got Miller and Chubb, Sutton and Jeudy, Lindsay and Gordon and, of course, Jackson and Simmons. Last week, they only had one of those duos for the entire game, the safety group, and they may very well be the situation again on Sunday.

This time, though, I think Simmons proves that Monday was a fluke and carries the torch for this duo, helping the Broncos contain the large staple of receivers that Big Ben Roethlisberger has at his disposal.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTIONS VS STEELERS (-7.5)

Zac

Steelers 27, Broncos 17 — This was not the Broncos team John Elway envisioned when he built the 2020 squad this offseason.

Denver will be without their highest-paid player in Von Miller, their third-highest-paid player in A.J. Bouye and Pro Bowl running back Phillip Lindsay for Sunday’s game against the Steelers. On top of that, Courtland Sutton and Bradley Chubb won’t be fully healthy either.

If that wasn’t enough, not only did the Broncos wrap up Week 1 in the 11 o’clock hour on Monday night, they have to travel to Pittsburgh and play the early game on Sunday.

Oh, and on top of that, they have to play a team with a Hall of Fame quarterback and a defense that just held Saquon Barkley to six — six! — rushing yards on 0.4 yards per rush. It’s no surprise why the Broncos are underdogs by over a touchdown.

To pull off the massive upset, Drew Lock and Denver’s talented young offense will have to hit multiple big plays — which they are capable of doing — and the defense will have to take down Big Ben and force a turnover or two.

Mase

Steelers 21, Broncos 16 — Points will be at a premium on both sides. Injuries have decimated Pittsburgh’s offensive line, with right tackle Zach Banner and guard Stefan Wisniewski on injured reserve and guard David DeCastro out for the game. Fourth-round pick Kevin Dotson, a standout at the East-West Shrine Bowl, will start at right guard.

But over the last nine regular-season weeks, the Steelers are among the league leaders across the board in defensive metrics:

Yards allowed per play: 4.45 (1st)
First-down rate: One allowed every 4.06 plays (2nd)
Touchdowns allowed per game: 1.6 (2nd of 32 teams)
Points allowed per game: 17.4 (4th)
Yards allowed per game: 280.1 (2nd)

Pittsburgh’s defense has only accounted for 20 or more points allowed once in that span: at Cleveland last year. (In Baltimore to close the 2019 season, Baltimore’s defense accounted for nine of the 28 points posted against Pittsburgh). This is the toughest defense the Broncos have faced since Drew Lock became their starter, and while Lock be expected to hold his own, Pittsburgh might have a bit too much.

Ryan

Steelers 27, Broncos 24 — My heart is telling me that Sunday is going to be upset city in the NFL and that the Broncos may be one of those, but my head tells me this matchup is going to be very tough for Denver.

In training camp, when Drew Lock struggled, it was all about pressure, and the Steelers are poised to pressure him all day. While I think Lock finds a way to make some big plays against that pressure, in the end, I think it will be too much.