This one stings.
The Denver Broncos went into Pittsburgh to take on the red hot Steelers knowing they needed a win to make the postseason; Denver left Pittsburgh with an embarrassing loss. Denver, now 10-4, only leads the AFC West by one game over the Chiefs. Kansas City has won eight in a row and are now 9-5 after a win today.
Broncos quarterback Brock Osweiler was outstanding in the first half of the afternoon showdown and could not be stopped, leading the orange and blue crew to a 27-13 halftime lead.
“The Deputy” was on point with former Steeler and current Bronco Emmanuel Sanders, finding Sanders for nine receptions and 168 yards on the day. Although, Osweiler to Sanders was about the only bright spot for your Broncos.
“I can only imagine how bad he is hurting right now,” Osweiler told Denver media on how much Sanders wanted this win. “This is obviously where he started in his career and he wanted to come in and get a win. So did the rest of the team. Unfortunately we didn’t tonight. Steelers played a heck of a game and there are some things we need to clean up and we will clean up.”
In the second half, the Broncos offense did a complete 180. They couldn’t convert first downs and didn’t end up scoring a single point after the break.
“Nothing really felt different,” Osweiler said of the second half. “We just couldn’t get into a rhythm for some reason. I think you have to give credit where credit is due. The Steelers and their coaching staff made some great halftime adjustments. Those guys on the field played a great second half for the Steelers”
Sunday was the third straight game where Denver failed to score in the second half, an atrocious display of offense.
“That’s something that we’re very aware of as an offense,” Osweiler said. “I’m sure we’ll spend a lot of time tomorrow in meetings discussing how we can get that fixed and how we can get a fast start in the second half and score some points in the second half because that’s something as an offensive unit you have to do. You play 60 minutes not 30 minutes. That is something that we will work on and we will fix.”
“We walked out of the locker room and got a nice first down,” head coach Gary Kubiak said of the start of the second half after the loss. “After that I think we had four holding calls in the next nine plays. Nobody has a chance when you do that to yourself. It was penalties and lack of execution.”
“We took advantage of every opportunity in first half,” Kubiak stated. “We didn’t make any plays in the second half.”
Denver couldn’t even cross into Steelers territory in the second half until midway through the fourth quarter.
What could be worse than that? Denver had nine total possessions in the second half; they punted six times with two turnovers on downs and one interception. The Broncos also went 0-9 on third downs in the second half after going a perfect 8-8 in the first two quarters.
Pittsburgh Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger was unstoppable in the second half and was able to find wide out Antonio Brown the entire afternoon; Brown ended the day with 16 receptions for 189 yards and two touchdowns.
Broncos’ star cornerback Chris Harris, who was covering Brown, had not allowed a touchdown to a player he was covering in the last two seasons until Sunday. Harris allowed Brown one of his two touchdowns and said after the loss, “This one is on me.”
Denver is still in the driver’s seat for their playoff destiny: Win and they’re in. It is just a shame that the hometown team cannot close the door.
Up next is a Cincinnati Bengals team who is fighting for a first-round bye on Denver’s only Monday night game of the season. If this game Sunday was a must-win, then a win on Monday night is paramount.
