Pittsburgh Steelers Defeat Denver Broncos 28-10 - Blog may be renamed again...

Pittsburgh owned the second half in Denver and steamrolled the Broncos to win 28-10. For the second straight week, Denver was outclassed by a seemingly tougher and more ver did not threaprepared team. Also, for the second straight week, there was never the sense that Denver was going to win the game. A fumble return for a TD by Robert Ayers was the highlight of the game, but any momentum was quickly squashed by a 4 play 80 yard touchdown drive in which the Steelers re-took the lead.

This is the Denver team that everybody was afraid we would see before the season began. The front seven was unable to get any real pressure on Ben Roethlisberger in the second half (except for the forced fumble) and Pittsburgh was able to run the ball at will. The defense seemed to be worn out in the second half despite only being on the field for 18 plays in the first half.

The offense was prolific in every way in the first half except for on the scoreboard. It looked sharp and creative and Kyle Orton was completing a lot of 12-18 yard passes. However, by the second half, Pittsburgh defense shut down Denver and Kyle Orton was running for his life most of the half. Denver's offense was unable to generate any sustained drives after half time. The running game was totally stopped. After controlling the ball for 19 minutes in the first half, Denver only had the ball for 6 minutes in the second half.

So, Denver has suffered two bad defeats in a row against two strong opponents. Denver now has to worry about maintaining its division lead against San Diego - San Diego is only 1 game out at 5-3. A winnable game against a hapless and Clinton Portis-less Redskins is next week followed by a critical game at home vs. San Diego. Then, a short week before a Thanksgiving night game against the Giants. It's important for denver to win at least 2 of those games, if not all three to show that the first half success we've had so far can be sustained.

6-2 is a great first half, but by starting 6-0, Josh McDaniels and the Broncos have set up a different level of expectations for the season. Now, we are in the midst of a 2 game losing streak where the team has looked absolutely terrible.