When: 11 a.m. Sunday, CBS, KRSJ 100.5 FM
OPENING LINE: Steelers by 5
RECORD VS. SPREAD: Broncos 0-1; Steelers 1-0
SERIES RECORD: Broncos lead 20-11-1
LAST MEETING: Broncos beat Steelers 24-17 on Nov. 25, 2018 at Denver
LAST WEEK’S RESULT: Broncos lost to Titans 16-14; Steelers beat Giants 26-16
AP PRO32 RANKING: Broncos No. 24, Steelers No. 6.
BRONCOS OFFENSE: OVERALL (22), RUSH (20T), PASS (19).
BRONCOS DEFENSE: OVERALL (21), RUSH (19), PASS (21).
STEELERS OFFENSE: OVERALL (21), RUSH (8), PASS (21T).
STEELERS DEFENSE: OVERALL (7), RUSH (1), PASS (24).
STREAKS, STATS AND NOTES: Broncos own best record against Steelers of any AFC team. Denver has won four of last five meetings. ... The Broncos placed CB A.J. Bouye on IR with a sprained shoulder, so he’ll miss a minimum of three weeks. ... RB Melvin Gordon rushed for 78 yards and a TD in his Denver debut. ... WR Courtland Sutton missed opener with sprained shoulder joint but returned to practice this week. He averaged 78 receiving yards on the road last season. ... TE Noah Fant matched a career high with five catches for 81 yards and a TD last week -- all in the first half. ... In his Denver debut, DT Jurrell Casey had a half-dozen tackles and a career-best two pass breakups against his former team. ... ILB Alexander Johnson’s dozen tackles led the Broncos in Week 1. ... OLB Jeremiah Attaochu had Denver’s only sack in Week 1. He had two tackles for loss in his only career game against the Steelers, in 2015 while with the Chargers. ... Rookie CBs Michael Ojemudia and Essang Bassey played more than half of the team’s snaps last week. ... With Shelby Harris’ blocked field goal in Week 1, the Broncos have six blocked kicks since 2018, tied with the Patriots for most in the NFL. ... OLB Bradley Chubb had two quarterback hits in his return to action after missing most of last season with a torn ACL. ... Broncos have given up the lead in the final 30 seconds six times in head coach Vic Fangio’s 17 games, losing four of them. ... Steelers are 50-34-3 all-time in home openers, 15-4 at Heinz Field. ... Pittsburgh QB Ben Roethlisberger tossed three TDs in Week 1 victory against Giants in return from right elbow surgery. ... Roethlisberger needs 250 yards passing to move to surpass Eli Manning for seventh all-time on NFL career list. Roethlisberger’s next TD pass will move him by Manning for eighth in career (367). ... Pittsburgh WR JuJu Smith-Schuster is first player in NFL history to reach 200 career receptions before 23rd birthday. ... Pittsburgh RB Benny Snell likely to have bigger workload with starter James Conner nursing ankle injury. Snell posted career-best 113 yards rushing in opening win against Giants. ... Steelers OL Chukwuma Okorafor takes over at RT for injured Zach Banner. Pittsburgh RG David DeCastro could miss second straight start with knee injury. ... Steelers limited Giants to league-low 29 yards rushing in opener. ... Pittsburgh sacked Daniel Jones twice in Week 1, extending streak of games with at least one sack to 54, fifth longest in NFL history. ... Fantasy tip: Roethlisberger typically comes out hot at Heinz Field. Two-time Super Bowl winner has 11 TDs in home openers dating to 2015.
Associated Press
