Steelers/NFL
Pittsburgh 28 – Denver 10
The Denver Broncos were exposed for the second straight week as the Pittsburgh Steelers amassed 300+ second half yards and forced three Kyle Orton interceptions en route to a commanding 28-10 victory over the Denver Broncos Monday night at Invesco field.
After a sluggish start on the offensive side of the ball, it was safety Tyrone Carter who sparked the Steelers 5th straight win, taking the first of his two interceptions 48 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter as the Steelers jumped out to a 7-3 half time lead.
The Steelers were outgained 183-54 in the first half and generated just three first downs but the world champions asserted their dominance in the second half.
Ben Roethlisberger completed 21 of 29 passes for 233 yards and three touchdowns and one interception as Roethlisberger threw two touchdown passes to Hines Ward and a 25 yard touchdown pass to Mike Wallace in the 4th quarter.
The Steelers offensive attack had a balanced attack as Roethlisberger got plenty of help from running back Rashard Mendenhall who rushed for 155 yards on 22 carries, becoming the fourth player since the merger to top 150 yards rushing in a win at Denver.
The Steelers were without three defensive starters and held the Broncos to just 27 rushing yards. The Steelers defense has 11 takeaways in the midst of their 5 game winning streak.
Despite being the defending Super Bowl Champions, the Steelers have fallen somewhat under the radar on the national scene and much of the talk following the game was that the Steelers have the look of being unbeatable when they can have the balance attack they have on offense to go along with their defense.
The Steelers overcame two costly turnovers, a Robert Ayers 54 Yd fumble return for a touchdown and third quarter Ben Roethlisberger interception in the redzone. The redzone interception was Roethlisberger’s 1st redzone INT since October 2007.
There was a general through prior to the game that Kyle Orton would not beat Ben Roethlisberger and that’s what exactly happened.
Orton threw two costly interceptions and added a third when the game was out of reach, while Roethlisberger threw three touchdowns on the night and is now only one win (56 total) away from tying Tom Brady for the most wins (57) by a quarterback in their first six seasons.
Roethlsiberger has eight games remaining to pass Brady as the Steelers are 6-2 at the midpoint of the season for the second straight year.
The Steelers return home Sunday afternoon for an AFC North showdown with the 6-2 Cincinnati Bengals.
Notes
As expected Ryan Clark did not play because he nearly died following a game in Denver two years ago due to a rare blood disorder.
Tyrone Carter was among the Steelers playing for his teammate.
“Ryan is like a brother to me. We’ve been in this thing together for a long time,” Tyrone Carter said. “The bond is so tight between all of us. But to know that he can’t play today and knowing that he wanted to be out there, I just wanted to make sure that I went out there and played for him, and let him know I’m there for him, that we were still going to be all right.”
