If there was ever a game decided by sheer determination and “kicking and screaming,” Sunday’s divisional round win against the Pittsburgh Steelers was it.
Denver played host to an injured Pittsburgh squad in the final matchup of the weekend here in the Mile High City. With the air cold and the wind blowing, Denver came out on top 23-16 to advance to the AFC Championship in head coach Gary Kubiak’s first year.
“I’m very proud of our organization and our team, but what you just said is exactly what we’ve been about all year. There hasn’t been one way that we’ve won,” Kubiak told Denver media after the win. “We’ve kind of won all kinds of different ways. We’ve had a lot of different players contribute to our success when we’ve been successful. We’ve been through a quarterback ordeal with two guys playing, but here we are. That’s what team is all about and that’s what I’ve preached to them. I told them it would take them all today. It sure did. It will continue to take all of us as we move forward.”
There were some mishaps; mainly drops in the first half and Pittsburgh seemed to live on the yards after the catch, but there were three players that stand out and are the reason the Orange and Blue are not clearing out their lockers today.
Here is my the A-Team for the divisional round playoff win.
Kickers often seem to be the butt of jokes, the guy who always gets kicked around, but on this day, McManus was a hero. The second-year kicker out of Temple was a perfect 5-5 on the day, a Broncos team playoff record and tied for the all-time NFL mark. His 51-yard kick down the middle also ties Bronco legend Jason Elam for the second longest in team playoff history.
McManus seemed poised out there, despite harsh weather.
“It was the worst wind that I have had in my career at any level,” McManus said. “In warm-ups, there was zero wind. Then I come back out five minutes before the game and it’s howling 30 mph wind. I had to learn quickly what it was going to do.”
Accounting for all of Denver’s points leading up to the fourth quarter, McManus kicked Denver into the AFC title game and himself right into the record books.
It also doesn’t hurt knowing he has not missed since his awful kick a few weeks back, but who remembers that anyway?
Roby is a second-year nickel cornerback that is sometimes overshadowed by the likes of Aqib Talib and T.J. Ward, but on this evening, Roby was the man responsible for the turnaround.
Pittsburgh led 13-12 late into the fourth quarter until, just like every other game this season, the defense made a game-changing play. Roby was able to punch the ball away from Steelers third-string running back Fitzgerald Toussaint and the ball was recovered by DeMarcus Ware. It was the game’s one and only turnover.
“It was a great feeling. We were all stressing that we needed a turnover, that we haven’t had a turnover all game,” Roby said. “I was one of the guys saying it and stressing it, and I just got the opportunity and I capitalized. I just saw him kind of holding it out, and we were just talking about getting turnovers, so I just punched it out.”
Bennie Fowler is a young, explosive wide receiver out of Michigan State University who, just like Roby, is not heard from much because he lines up with players like Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders. Well, this game changed that.
Fowler overcame a couple of early drops to made the biggest catch of his career late in the fourth quarter, keeping a drive alive that ended in Denver’s one and only touchdown on the day. The 31-yard catch was highlighted by a broken tackle of Steelers corner Brandon Boykin and breathed new air into a Denver squad who had only gone 1-12 on third down before hand.
Fowler was asked if his impact surprised him and like a true professional, he answered honestly.
“No, not surprised. I’ve been playing all year, and Peyton has a lot of trust in me, so he didn’t hesitate to throw me the ball,” Fowler explained. “Those two drops early, they are what they are. At the end of the day, he still came to me. I had two catches, and he trusted me on a third-and-12 in the fourth. He threw me the ball and I made a play.”
