Team Grades: Steelers Better In Second Half Against Broncos In Tough Win
By Christina Rivers
On Sunday afternoon the Pittsburgh Steelers hosted the Denver Broncos in a week 15 game that had playoff implications. In front of a record home crowd, the Steelers were a team of two halves, giving their fans an early holiday gift with a 34-27 win that looked improbable early on. After two quarters of abysmal play by the defense, the Steelers were able to get on track headed into their final two weeks of the 2015 NFL regular season.
Steelers offense still packs power – Grade: A minus
Offensively, the Steelers were relatively stable. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger spent more time in the pocket against the Broncos as the offensive line tried to lessen the impact from a steady Broncos rush. Roethlisberger was the victim of three sacks on the day, but held it together to finish with 40 of 55 passes completed, 380 yards and three touchdown passes. Roethlisberger threw two interceptions on the day; one errant toss a forced ball that didn't need to leave his hand as the Steelers could have finished the game by simply rushing to run out the game clock.
Running back DeAngelo Williams saw very little running room due to stiff stopping power from Denver's No. 1 ranked defense, but his contributions – including a rushing touchdown - allowed the Steelers to open up the passing game. Once again, Antonio Brown had a big game, catching 16 passes for 189 yards and two touchdowns. Markus Wheaton added the other offensive score.
Defense rocked, but fights back in second half – Grade: B minus
The Steelers defense was horrible in the first half of the game. Broncos quarterback Brock Osweiler had not been able to hook up with any receiver or set up a rusher for an offensive touchdown in eight former quarters. Against the Steelers, Osweiler came out and looked like a different player, throwing for 296 yards and three touchdowns to put Denver up 27 to 13 at the half.
Pittsburgh came out in the second half and became the poster children for how to shut down any NFL offense. It wasn't pretty, but by playing tighter coverage and rushing more than three up front, the Steelers created the amount of pressure that has kept the Broncos rattled this season. Two sacks and an interception helped seal the deal.
Special Teams – Grade: A
Danny Smith had to be happy with his Steelers special teams squad's play overall. His heart must have jumped into his throat when a strange play on a punt return happened. Shamarko Thomas looked to have downed the Jordan Berry punt with his foot on the edge of the sideline. With no whistle, Jordan Norwood of the Broncos picked up the ball and ran down the field and into the end zone in what appeared initially to be a touchdown. After review, it was determined that the Broncos had allowed players to enter the field of play as Norwood ran, nullifying any points and bringing the ball back to the spot where Thomas touched the ball.
Placekicker Chris Boswell was a perfect two-for-two in field goals scored and successfully made all four point-after kicks.
Coaching – Grade: B
Keith Butler's head was likely to be called for if the game had only lasted for 30 minutes. His defense came out flat and gave up so much cushion to Denver's receivers that Osweiler easily threaded one ball after another to them. The lack of up-front attack combined with coverage that was a sieve made for a disappointing result.
Give the Steelers coaching staff credit for making proper adjustments when they took the field in the second half. Not only was the pressure on the Broncos offensive line and Osweiler better, but the coverage also improved and the Steelers were able to make several key stands to completely shut out Denver in the second half. Sunday's win was probably one of the best in-game adjustments the Steelers have made all season. Head coach Mike Tomlin said after the game that the fundamental adjustment was that the team "stopped kicking (their) own butt."
Final Thoughts
The Steelers are now in a better spot for playoff contention thanks to a team effort that required individual players to word more efficiently as a whole. The win was a nice present for Steelers fans as Pittsburgh hits the road for their final two regular season games; first at Baltimore and then in Cleveland. In the AFC North, the Steelers are still challenging the Bengals but both the Ravens and Browns have eliminated themselves from post-season play.
Christina Rivers has covered the Pittsburgh Steelers and National Football League professionally as a journalist and photographer for over a decade. Rivers studied Exercise Physiology and Sports Psychology at Brigham Young University as a student-athlete. Christina is a freelance writer covering all things NFL as well as a published author. Her work can be found on
Examiner.com.