The Steelers Bully the Broncos on Monday Night

The Broncos fell to 6-2 after a 28-10 loss at home to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday Night Football. The Broncos dominated the first half and moved the ball well, but a Kyle Orton "Pick Six" to Tyrone Carter gave the Steelers a 7-3 lead. The second half belonged to the defending Super Bowl champs. Denver took a 10-7 lead on a Robert Ayers 64 yard fumble return early in the third quarter. From there, Ben Roethlisberger brought the Steelers right back with a short touchdown pass to Hines Ward to take a 14-10 lead. The Steeler defense shut down the Bronco offense repeatedly, and the final dagger was after Troy Polamalu intercepted Orton midway through the fourth quarter. Big Ben threw a touchdown pass to Mike Wallace on a 3rd and 6 and that was the ballgame. The Steelers flat out dominated Denver in the second half, and they basically bullied the Broncos around. Denver's defense played well, but once again they got no help from the offense, especially in the second half. The once undefeated Broncos were the talk of the NFL after a 6-0 start. Following their bye week, Denver has dropped two in a row, and both losses have brought a lot of concerns to forefront. To put a little perspective on the first half of the Broncos season, we will play a little question and answer game....

How would you grade Josh McDaniels' performance so far as a head coach? After the 6-0 start, you would have given McD an A. At 6-2, it would be fair to say that he deserves an A-. He has done a nice job with playcalling, but the last two weeks were not his best moments. His emotion and intensity is greatly infectious and energizing. Overall, McDaniels looks like he could be a very good head coach, but there will be some bumps in the road. It will be interesting to see how McDaniels gets him team ready for the second half.

How would you grade the Kyle Orton Era so far in Denver? At 6-0, Orton was considered a MVP candidate. After the last two losses, everyone is questioning his ability to play QB in the NFL. The bottom line on Orton is that he is an average NFL QB. He is not in the top tier or the lowest tier, he is a middle-of-the-pack NFL starting QB. Against average or weak defenses, he can be very successful. Against a solid or very good defense, he is going to struggle. I don't think you can count Orton out right now, but you have to deal with his good and bad moments. Right now he is our only option. I would say Orton deserves a B for his performance so far this season.

What about our vaunted offense? Denver's offense has been a disappointment so far this season. With that talent, the Broncos should be averaging way more then the 19-20 points they are averaging. An A game for the Bronco offense should be: Brandon Marshall- 9 catches for 120 yards, Eddie Royal- 7 for 75 yards, Tony Scheffler- 5 catches for 50 yards, and the combination of Jabar Gaffney and Brandon Stokley for about 4 catches and 3 big first down conversions. Throw in 20 carries from Knowshon Moreno for about 90 yards, and Correll Buckhalter adding about 10 carries for 40 yards. That should be viable every week, especially with the Bronco defense. The offense needs to get better. There is too much talent for it to wallow in mediocrity. They get a C for a first half grade.

Is our defense falling apart? No, the Bronco defense is not falling apart. Every unit needs help from the other unit, and the Bronco defense is not getting any help from the offensive unit. The Broncos defense has played very well, and although they got beat the last two second games, the Bronco defense is here to stay. It would be nice for them to get a two score lead once in a while? Unless there is a rash of injuries, I look for the Bronco defense to continue to excel. First half grade: B+

The bottom line is that the sky is not falling. The Broncos are still 6-2, and they still have a game lead on the Chargers in the AFC West. They have a bunch of winnable games the second half of the season. They host Oakland, travel to Washington, and have two games with the Chiefs. They get the Chargers and Giants at home as well. I think Denver could get 10 or 11 wins, which would equal a very successful season. The Broncos aren't dead yet, and there is a lot of football left to play.