Broncos Steelers Recap

I felt like I was watching a repeat of last years Divisional Round game against the Colts. They struggled to convert third downs (1-12 for the day) and struggled to run the ball. Manning didn't look terrible, but dropped balls in critical situations really put a limit on what the offense could do. They had missed opportunities on all of their potential scoring drives. None of this mattered too much in the end since they were able to come away with the victory. Brandon McManus tied the record for most field goals made in a playoff game with five, which was very impressive in those windy conditions. 

 

Ben Roethlisberger demonstrated on the first play that he was not lacking any arm strength by over throwing Marckus Wheaton on the first play of the game. They almost capitalized on a shot to the end-zone on 4th and 1. Talib made a good play, but the initial coverage on the flats forced Ben to go deep with the ball. 

Manning got good field position on the first drive, but was only able to turn it into three points. Kubiak broke out a trick play early that involved a direct snap to Ronnie Hillman while Manning was calling a phantom audible, but it was easily stopped by the Steelers. CJ Anderson needed to be in on short yardage plays, not that it would have made a difference on that particular play, but he is better in those situations. After a terrible punt that had the Broncos starting at the Pittsburgh 30, they settled for another field goal after what looked like a miscommunication between Manning and Norwood.

Kayvon Webster made this great play to avoid a touchback. 

Fitzgerald Touissaint scored the first touchdown of the game on a one yard run after an explosive Steelers drive that only took 5 plays to complete. Another busted coverage lead to a field goal for the Steelers on the next drive. Big plays continued to hurt the defense early in the second half as they extended their lead to 13-9. 

Peyton gave himself up on a sack, but was not touched so he immediately got up and made a throw to Sanders. I knew he had been self-sacking himself in order to do that one time. Pretty tricky Peyton.

Apparently there is a rule that if you muff a punt, but recover it in the end zone, you are actually rewarded. That rule needs to be changed because it makes absolutely no sense. 

Roby made a great play to force a fumble with 9:52 left in the fourth quarter which gave the Broncos life again as it looked like the Steeler would at least get a chance to attempt a field goal on the drive. That crucial takeaway gave Manning a chance to lead the go ahead drive down, which (and CJ) turned into a touchdown. Manning made a critical pass to Bennie Fowler on third down that got the Broncos to the Steelers side of the field. Good running and precise passing put the Broncos ahead 18-13 after a CJ one yard run. A screen pass to Demaryius Thomas for the two point conversion put the team up by 7 with around 3:00 left. 

Settling for field goals and not converting third downs was detrimental to the team throughout the game, but they were able to escape with the win because of a nice strip by Roby and a nice touchdown drive by Manning. Manning played well enough to win in the playoffs and his stats would be much better if the receivers were able to hang onto the ball in the first half. It was an ugly game, but in the playoffs the game are much tougher and all you need to do is advance. The wins might not be pretty, but if they are there then nobody will care. 

The Patriots will be coming to town next week in a rematch of their week 13 bout where Brock and the Broncos prevailed in overtime.