Pittsburgh (5-2) at Denver (6-1)
Currently: - Game info: 8:30 pm EST Mon Nov 9, 2009
- TV: ESPN
The Pittsburgh Steelers didn’t get off to a strong start this season, but the defending Super Bowl champions are now playing at a high level.
Pittsburgh goes for its fifth straight victory Monday night, when it looks to snap a three-game losing streak to a Denver Broncos club trying to bounce back from its first defeat of the season.
Since opening the season 1-2, the Steelers (5-2) have gone undefeated to give themselves a legitimate shot to win a third straight AFC North title. They own the same record as Cincinnati, although the Bengals currently own the tiebreaker by virtue of a home win over Pittsburgh in Week 3.
“We’ve put ourselves in a good position to go into this bye, but November, December, that’s where the real teams start to separate themselves,” Steelers defensive end Brett Keisel(notes) said. “Hopefully, if we’re a real team around here, we can continue this win streak.”
Pittsburgh will attempt to continue its surge in Denver, where it hasn’t won a regular-season game since a 34-17 victory on Oct. 14, 1990.
The Steelers, though, defeated the host Broncos by the same score in the 2005 AFC title game en route to their Super Bowl 40 victory.
Coming off its bye week, Pittsburgh looks to build off a 27-17 home win over Minnesota on Oct. 25.
Ben Roethlisberger(notes), third in the NFL with 2,062 passing yards, threw his 11th touchdown of the season, while the Steelers’ defense scored twice in the fourth quarter - a 77-yard fumble return by linebacker LaMarr Woodley(notes) and Keyaron Fox’s(notes) 82-yard interception return with one minute remaining.
Pittsburgh had four sacks - with James Harrison(notes) recording two to increase his team-leading total to eight - while holding the Vikings’ Adrian Peterson-led running game to 89 yards.
The Steelers, who haven’t allowed a 100-yard rusher in their last 25 regular-season contests, lead the league in run defense at 76.6 yards per game.
Pittsburgh, though, will have a patchwork defensive line when it faces rookie running back Knowshon Moreno(notes), Correll Buckhalter(notes) and the Broncos’ 11th-ranked rushing offense.
Defensive end Travis Kirschke(notes), who was replacing the injured Aaron Smith(notes) (torn right rotator cuff), suffered a torn left calf muscle in the victory over Minnesota.
Nick Eason(notes) - Keisel’s backup at right defensive end - will move to the left side, while rookies Ziggy Hood and Sunny Harris are expected to get plenty of playing time as the Steelers rotate linemen in Denver’s Mile High altitude.
“I was released (by Pittsburgh) the fourth game and the next thing you know I’m playing,” Eason said Wednesday. “Now I’ll be playing a lot more. My snaps have doubled in three weeks. It’s amazing, but that’s the life story in the NFL.”
The Steelers’ makeshift line will not have to contend with Broncos third-year right tackle Ryan Harris(notes), who suffered a toe injury in last Sunday’s 30-7 loss at Baltimore. Tyler Polumbus(notes) will likely make his first NFL start in Harris’ place.
“We always give (Tyler) plenty of reps in practice. He handled himself well in the preseason,” Broncos first-year coach Josh McDaniels said. “We’ll expect him to go in there and play well.”
McDaniels’ team did not play well last week, dropping its first game of the season following a 6-0 start.
“Anytime you have a game like this, it forces you to look in a mirror,” he said. “Hopefully we can find out just as much about one another … through the adversity of a loss as you can through six wins.”
The Broncos’ defense is looking to rebound from its worst effort of the season. Denver ranks third in the NFL in rushing defense at 86.1 yards per game, but surrendered a season-high 125 to the Ravens.
“Last week was last week,” Broncos safety Brian Dawkins(notes) said. “We did some things in the second half that were not like us defensively. Getting out of our gaps—I think we were trying to do too much towards the end—and we gave up some scores that we usually don’t give up.”
Denver will try to slow a Steelers running game led by Rashard Mendenhall(notes) - who has a team-high 418 yards and four scores - and veteran Willie Parker(notes).
Parker, who rushed for 93 yards on 21 carries in the teams’ last meeting - a 31-28 Steelers loss at Denver on Oct. 21, 2007 - missed practice time this week due to a fever, but is expected to play.
“Pittsburgh is going to pound the ball,” Broncos defensive lineman Kenny Peterson(notes) said. “They have a physical offensive line. Their mentality has been the same for decades, which is physical play.”
Denver’s offense looks for a better effort after posting a season-low 200 yards last week, when they went scoreless in the first half for the first time this season.
“Yeah, they beat us up pretty good, no question about it,” quarterback Kyle Orton(notes) said. “We feel like we’ve got a physical football team and certainly Pittsburgh prides themselves on that, too. So, it’ll be a hard-hitting game and whoever can win that battle is going to have a good chance to win.”
Denver, which leads the all-time series 13-6-1, has won nine of 12 overall versus Pittsburgh.
Team Comparison
| Team | Records | Standings | PF | PA | Road/Home | AFC | NFC | DIV | Streak |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pittsburgh | 6-4-0 | 2nd AFC North | 231 | 184 | 2-3-0 Road | 4-3-0 | 2-1-0 | 1-2-0 | Lost 2 |
| Denver | 6-4-0 | 2nd AFC West | 170 | 183 | 3-2-0 Home | 5-3-0 | 1-1-0 | 2-1-0 | Lost 4 |
Blog Coverage from SB Nation
Behind the Steel Curtain
Mile High ReportInjuries
Travis Kirschke DE, Troy Polamalu S, Carey Davis RB, Aaron Smith DE, Frank Summers RB, Sean McHugh TE, Darnell Stapleton C
Ryan Harris T, Josh Barrett S, Kyle Orton QB, Correll Buckhalter RB, Brandon Lloyd WR, Brandon Marshall WR, LaMont Jordan RB, Ryan McBean DE, J'Vonne Parker DT, Nick Greisen LB
572 Comments
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lets just hope our D gives them a bunch of chances to figure it out.
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go steelers ~~ say hi to cincy steeler style!
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The Steelers are not the Browns. They do not kick players to the curb who have perfromed well in the past. Even Parker does not know what he is capable of doing right now.
I am just looking at the games in the last couple weeks of December, and you know that last game against the Ravens will be brutal. The Steelers need everybody playing. Maybe then the Steelers can back-to-back SuperBowls.
It is a thought!
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All I know is that I can't wait for this week's game. Wish it was sunday.
Steelers do turn it up a notch for big games.
My prediction - Steelers win big
GO BLACK & GOLD!!!
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yea understandable, i just hope he keeps the offense fresh as opposed to stalling it like ive seen in the past, granted we didnt have mendy then.
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Parker is going to be rusty, but he needs to work on timing and just running with the ball. Two or three times in every second or third series keeps the defence off balance. Parker also needs to work on his pass blocking because it is different in practice than in a game.
Mendenhall should be doing most of the carries until Parker shows that he can get the job done as he has in the past. Maybe Mendenhall learns a little about protecting the ball. Moore is a good third down back, but offences need some new wrinkles once in a while.
Later in the year, the ground gets harder. And sometimes you need to replace for a series or two a key player. It is always good if they are ready to go!
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thanks i wasnt too worried about it, if thats the best hes got then thats pretty pathetic and youre right i do feel bad for him.
also im not a big fan of parker or at least using him up the middle as much as they did. i feel moore is a fine 3rd down guy and mendenhall can get it done easily if he can just hold onto the ball which i know is a huge issue.
ill also agree that im glad to see cincy doing something this year. Ocho looks like he's calmed down a bit and matured to the point where he can have fun and still be one of the better receivers. Palmers always had a huge arm and benson just ties it all together. Granted the offense let up in the second half of the baltimore game but the D did what they had to to win it and thats all you need sometimes. Im confident the steelers can get them to force the pass by shutting benson down and letting troy make up some ground in the int race that he missed earlier. but with all the weapons each team has on offense im giving the edge to pitts D, no bold statement there.
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It is good when a division is competitive. You get better prepared for the post-season because you play high calibre teams. In theory, every team tries to improve each year.
The Steelers lost some quality people, and right out of the gate, they were not sure. Wallace is showing himself to be more than just a fill-in replacement for Washington. Carter/Clarke switch for the Denver game was a classy move by a first rate organization, and all they will get out of it is a better nickle or dime package.
Go Steelers!
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I like talking football too but like calling out the mental midgets like Justina.
Anyway, this is the best division in football. It is a shame the Browns can't be semi competitive and make it unanimous. Look what the Ravens did to Denver and then tell me that are third place team is not better than any other division's 2nd place team or in some cases better than their division leader. This Cincy game will end up with a convincing win for the Steelers 28-14.
Justina-
Tell your mama to gargle and bathe before coming to clean my house and scrub my nutz.
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It's best to just ignore comments from guys looking for attention with pathetic insults while hiding behind their computers. Why give them the satisfaction of a reply if they don't have any positive dialogue? Every true fan is going to support their team. Bashing others for support of a different team is a child's game.
On to football. I'm actually glad that Cincy is competitive this year. The division was getting a little boring with the same two teams being on top every year. This week's game for first place (instead of just another Steelers spanking the Bengals) has the feel of a playoff game. Makes for much more interesting football, don't you think?
Here we go Steelers, here we go!
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So, are you saying is this your official coming out party ?
Congratulations boy !
Now Grab a stool !
(NOOOOOOOOOOOO DUMBA$$, NOT A STOOL SAMPLE)
roflmao!!!!!!!
ROFLMAO!!
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Wow that was hilarious. Did you get help with that comeback you little retard.
How about I come whip your little a$$ and take your lunch money.
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Ryan is back this week. The nickle and dime defences will be better. Parker comes back this week, and he runs different than Mendenhall. The ground attack will be harder to defend, and Ben will be Ben.
All they have to do now is say hi to Palmer and company -- Steeler style.
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Boy, if I want any crap from you I'll just squeeze your head!
ROFLMAO!
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Boy,....I've kicked you to the curb so many times it's beginning to crumble !
LOL !!
It must be that rock head of yours !
Come on back now...ya hear?
roflmao!
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a typo is a typo. Don't sweat it!
Black and Gold
Justin comes on ribbons where intelligent conversations are going on. He thinks that cut and paste insults adds something. Well it does, but he would not understand anyway. Feel sorry for him! I do.
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Ignore Justin. He likes to cut, paste, and insult. He is still sulking because the BoSox were put to pasture. He has a job in the men's room somewhere--probably Fenway--and that must suck.
He does not know a thing about any sport apparently. His humor is toilet level, but if you ignore him, he does go away.
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Who was on streoids for the last two super bowls?
I think if I looked up Justin in a dictionary I would find -pipsqueak retard with a tiny p.p. that would get his a$$ whipped every day.
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roflmao!
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---- you still have your head in the sand boy
----come up for air and take a good look around at what you're shoveling and don't step in it!
ROFLMAO!
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