Thursday Notebook: Timmons misses third straight practice

TIMMONS STILL QUESTIONABLE

Even though he expects to play in Denver, inside linebacker Lawrence Timmons missed his third straight day of practice this week. Timmons suffered a sprained in the win against the Vikings.

But because the Steelers don’t play until Monday, they have an extra day of practice this week. So if Timmons can practice Friday, his chances of playing against the Broncos improve.

If Timmons can't go, Keyaron Fox will start.

ROETHLISBERGER PRAISES BRONCOS’ DEFENSE.

Josh McDaniels, the offensive-minded first-year head coach, and quarterback Kyle Orton have been getting plenty of credit the Broncos’ impressive 6-1 start. But according to Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger, the Denver defense is holding up its end of the deal.

“They’re the No. 1 defense in the world, that’s what we’ve heard Coach (Mike) Tomlin say 1,000 times this week already,” Roethlisberger said. “It’s going to be an awesome challenge for our offense.”

Last year when the Broncos went 8-8, their defense ranked 29th in the league.

But so far this year, they’re No. 1 overall, third against the run, eighth against the pass and second in scoring defense at 13.7 points per game.