Broncos Grind Out Victory Over Steelers-Advance to AFC Championship Game

The Broncos were a touchdown favorite heading into the AFC Divisional Playoff game against the wounded, beat-up Pittsburgh Steelers. Antonio Brown was out with a concussion, DeAngelo Williams was out with an ankle injury, and Ben Roethlisberger was playing with partially separated shoulder. All the experts were pointing to an easy Broncos win at home with the returning Peyton Manning. If you watched the Broncos all year, they have played low-scoring, tight, close games with their defense carrying the day. Why would you expect anything different in this playoff game? The Broncos grinded out another tough, close game at home 23-16 to advance to the AFC Championship Game next Sunday against the hated Patriots. Yes, it will be another Tom Brady-Peyton Manning matchup. Before we get to that, the Broncos took care of their part with the win over the Steelers. It wasn't easy. There were times that looked a little bleak for the Broncos, but like they did all year long, they fought, clawed and found a way to take the lead late and have their defense hold off Big Ben and the Steelers at the end of the game. It wasn't the prettiest game, but the Broncos did it that way all year, and that is how they advanced to host the AFC Title Game next week. Here are my thoughts and observations on the game....

1) You can't ask for a better start from the Broncos perspective. They forced a quick three and out for Pittsburgh, got a nice return by Omar Bolden on the punt return. Unfortunately, the Broncos settled for a field goal after only getting one first down, and it was 3-0. The next series, the Steelers drove the ball down to the Broncos 32, and on a 4th and 1 play, Pittsburgh went for it and Aqib Talib broke up the pass intended for Markus Wheaton and Denver took over on downs.

2) After the teams exchanged punts, the Broncos again took over in good field position, but once again they had to settle for another field goal by Brandon McManus, and the Broncos only lead 6-0. Settling for field goals on those drives was unfortunate because the Broncos should have had a bigger lead.

3) The Steelers settled in, and they hit a couple of big plays on the next drive including an end-around to Martavis Bryant and a Fitzgerald Toissaint touchdown run gave them a 7-6 late in the first quarter. So, after all that momentum to start the game, Denver was now trailing by a point.

4) The Broncos have been plagued by drops all year long, and once again it hurt them again in this game. With the Broncos driving on the next series, Manning just missed Demaryius Thomas on a deep post, and Emmanuel Sanders dropped a 3rd down pass that would have put them in field goal range.

5) The Steelers got the ball back and Big Ben hit a wide-open Darrius Heyward-Bey on a 58 yard hookup on a blown coverage and it set up a field goal and a 10-6 lead for Pittsburgh.

6) The Broncos once again moved the ball, but the drops really started getting out of hand. A dropped pass by C.J. Anderson on a third down killed one drive. Anderson had a lot of room to run too, and if he catches that pass, then the Broncos are in business. The next drive started in good field possession but Bennie Fowler dropped one pass, and Emmanuel Sanders dropped a pass on a 4th and 3 play from the Steelers 37 yard line. Sanders would have had a first down at the Pitt 25. Just bad play by the receivers once again.

7) The Steelers got too cute on a 3rd and 2 the next series when they tried another end around with Bryant and the Broncos snuffed it out for no gain. Denver started at their own five, and C.J. Anderson busted it for a 35 yard gain and the Broncos were on the move once again. Manning drilled a 3rd and 3 pass to Thomas for a first down. The drive stalled, but it set up another McManus field goal from 51 yards and it made the score 10-9.

8) After a Broncos punt to start the third quarter, Big Ben hit Bryant for another big play on a 50 yard catch and run, but Denver's defense stiffened like they always do and escaped by only giving up a field goal and Pittsburgh had a 13-9 lead. Talib broke up another pass in the end zone to Bryant to force the field goal. Talib was solid all game long.

9) After a brilliant punt by Britton Colquitt, who had his best punting day in a long time, the Broncos pinned the Steelers back and forced a quick three and out to get the ball back. Pittsburgh got really conservative in that spot, and the Broncos were moving the ball once again with a couple of Manning completions and an Anderson run. A sack on Manning derailed the drive and once again, McManus hit a 41 yarder to cut the lead to 13-12.

10) The Steelers were on the move once again, and as the 4th quarter started, it looked like Denver was in trouble. A key penalty on a first down by Pitt put them at 1st and 25 and after a 3rd and 30 gain of 10, Pittsburgh decided against a 52 yard field goal and punted, but the ball went into the end zone for a touchback. That is how tough the wind was in the game. In a normal game at Mile High, 52 yard field goals are never a question.

11) The next series featured one of the most bizarre sequences of the game. On first down, Manning was rushed, looked like he was giving himself up for a sack like he always does, wasn't touched, got up and delivered a strike to Sanders for 34 yards. After the drive stalled, the Broncos punted and Wheaton muffed it, and Pittsburgh recovered at the one-inch line and it almost looked like a safety. At the least, it should have been spotted at the one yard line, but it was ruled a touchback and somehow Pittsburgh avoided a disaster.

12) This is where the game turned. Big Ben had the Steelers on the move once again, and on a 2nd and 4 from the Broncos 34, Bradley Roby punched the ball out of Toussaint's hand and forced the fumble that was recovered by Demarcus Ware at the Broncos 35 yard line with 9:52 to go in the game. It was the first turnover in the game, and like they did all year long, the Broncos defense got a big turnover when they needed it. What a great play by Roby.

13) A big run by Anderson down to the Pitt 35 was negated by a holding call that was questionable at best. You thought that it just wasn't going to be the Broncos day. Give Peyton Manning credit because he made one of the best throws he made all year long. After getting nearly intercepted by William Gay on 2nd and 12, he hit Bennie Fowler on a 3rd and 12 with a bullet to give Denver a first down at the Pitt 36 yard line. It was one of the biggest plays of the game at that point. A couple of runs set up Denver with a quick throw to Sanders for a first down at the Steelers 15. Ronnie Hillman had two really nice runs to give the Broncos a 1st and Goal at the Pitt 2 yard line. Two runs put the ball at the Pittsburgh 1 yard line, and the Broncos hurried up, didn't huddle, and punched it in with Anderson going over for a 1 yard touchdown run and a 18-13 lead with only 3:00 minutes to play in the game. I was nervous about the hurry up, but it worked out as it didn't allow Pittsburgh to get ready for the play. Denver went for 2, and I loved the 2-point play. They took a timeout to set it up. They stacked the receivers to the right in a bunch formation, and Manning threw a quick pass to Demaryius Thomas, who walked into the endzone and a very critical 20-13 lead.

14) Three minutes to go with the Steelers at their own 20, and Big Ben taking the field to try and tie the game. You knew it was going to come down to this as a Broncos fan. A big first down throw to Bryant put it at the 38 yard line, and then the Broncos defense stepped up once again. On a 3rd and 5 from the 43, Demarcus Ware forced a quick throw by Big Ben and an incompletion. On 4th and 5, Von Miller rushed Ben and forced him to step up and Ware cleaned it up for the huge sack. Ware and Miller saved their best pass rush of the entire game for the most critical point in the game.

15) Three straight runs by Denver set up a huge McManus with a 45 yard field goal to effectively put the game out of reach and give Denver a 23-13 lead with only 53 seconds left in the game.

16) From there, Pittsburgh drove down to get a quick field goal to make it 23-16, but Denver recovered the onside kick with only 19 seconds left, and a Manning kneeldown ended the game, and the Broncos were victorious 23-16 to advance to their 10th AFC Championship in franchise history.

17) Give Big Ben and the Steelers credit. Without their best receiver, starting running back, and a banged up shoulder, Roethlisberger was gutty, gritty, and played well enough to give his team a chance. No one should discount how admirable he played, and the Steelers as a group played their asses off and almost pulled off the upset.

18) The stories will be about Peyton Manning and his performance. It is clear that he is not the same player he was just over a year ago, but on a windy day, Manning played well enough to manage the game, didn't turn the ball over, and overcame some drops and adversity to make just enough throws and plays to win the game. He finished 22-37 for 222 yards and 0 TDs and 0 interceptions. He did what he had to do, and he did a nice job checking out of certain plays and played within himself to help his team win the game. On a day where they only converted 3-15 on third down conversions, he still produced 20 points, which was enough to get the job done.

19) As it was all year long, the defense made the plays to win the game. Outside of four big plays they gave up, they held the Steelers to only 200 yards of total offense, and they held the Steelers to 2-12 on third down. They got the turnover they needed late on the big play by Roby, and they got the sacks and pressure on the last two downs to preserve the victory. If you had to give game balls, I would give them to Von Miller, Demarcus Ware, Derek Wolfe, Aqib Talib, and of course Bradley Roby.

20) One of the underrated aspects of this game was the kicking of Brandon McManus. He made 5 field goals on a day where the wind was just gusting and wrecking havoc all game long. McManus' performance reminded me of Jason Elam's performance in the 1998 AFC Championship Game against the Jets.

21) This game was a microcosm of how the Broncos played all year long. It was tight, close, and the Broncos grinded out the victory. Forget about stats, this group likes to play in these ugly and sluggish games. Their offense and Manning did just enough at times, and their defense made the plays to win the game. I'm not going to worry about style points because winning a playoff game is hard to do in the NFL, and the 2015 Broncos came in as the #1 seed and did what they had to do: They beat the visiting Pittsburgh Steelers at home coming off the bye. Let's enjoy this one as Broncos fans. We are advancing to the AFC Championship for the second time in three years. I know that it will be a very tough game going up against the healthy Patriots, and the Broncos will be underdogs, but we will worry about that later in the week. There will be plenty of time to talk about another Tom Brady-Peyton Manning showdown later this week, and I'm going to enjoy this victory and celebrate the Broncos Divisional Playoff win over the Steelers. GO BRONCOS!!!!!