The good news is the Denver Broncos are done with the AFC North.
Eight days after being shut down by a Baltimore Ravens defense, the Broncos offense sputtered again.
The Ravens held Denver to 66 yards rushing in the 30-7 shellacking on Nov. 1. The Steelers did that and more, stopping the Denver running ga
me in its tracks. The Broncos managed just 27 yards rushing and were forced to depend on the arm of Kyle Orton.
Monday night, that proved to be an awful option as Orton threw three interceptions, the first two leading to Pittsburgh touchdowns in a 28-10 loss at Invesco Field at Mile High. The first interception was returned 48 yards for score at the start of the second quarter by safety Tyrone Carter. The second pick, by safety Troy Polamalu, led to a 25-yard Ben Roethlisberger throw to rookie wideout Mike Wallace for a TD with 7:03 to play.
The Broncos (6-2) have lost two straight, both to AFC North Division teams, and are only a game ahead of San Diego (5-3). Denver suddenly finds itself in a race after a 6-0 start. A surprising 34-23 beating of the Chargers in San Diego three weeks ago on a Monday night is just a distant memory.
The Broncos are reeling. The good news is that next week's opponent, the Washington Redskins, are sucking air. Washington has lost four games in a row and running back Clinton Portis, a former Bronco, is expected to be out after suffering a concussion in 31-17 loss to Atlanta on Sunday.
After an opening drive, the Broncos led 3-0 on a 40-yard Matt Prater field goal. But Denver's offense was anemic after that. Orton's short passing game was about all the Broncos could muster. Denver's only other points came on rookie defensive end-linebacker Robert Ayers recovery and return of a Roethlisberger fumble for a touchdown. Defensive end Kenny Peterson swatted the ball out of Big Ben's hand and Ayers rambled 54 yards for a 10-7 Denver lead with 11:16 left in the third quarter.
The Steelers responded with an 80-yard drive on just four plays to put the Broncos in their place. A 3-yard Roethlisberger toss to Hines Ward regained the lead for Pittsburgh at 14-10 with 9:03 left in the third.
The score could have been worse but cornerback Andre Goodman picked off a pass in the end zone
to stop a Steelers drive.
Rashard Mendenhall became the first running back to run for 100 yards or more against the Broncos this season. Mendenhall had 155 yards on 22 carries, including a 36-yarder.
The biggest statistic? How about time of possession? The Steelers dominated -- especially in the second half -- and wore down Denver's defense, with 33 minutes and 3 seconds of possession.
The Broncos clearly have some work to do, especially with its offense and special teams.
Josh McDaniels has to figure out how to get Denver's running attack back in gear.
"They showed why they are the Super Bowl champions," McDaniels said of the Steelers. "We knew we had to play 60 good minutes. And it felt like we played about 30 or 35 good minutes of football and that's certainly not going to be good enough against a team like this."
Eddie Royal, who had five catches for 74 yards, says the offense needs to find some answers.
"It's just something we have to do to get better," Royal said.
McDaniels also needs to find an answer on special teams because Mitch Berger doesn't appear to be the answer as the punter. Berger did get two balls downed inside the 20, including one that pinned the Steelers at the 3. Berger averaged just 33 yards on seven punts.
Denver did score on its first drive -- albeit it ended with a Prater field goal -- but the Broncos obviously are going to have problems with physical defenses. The Ravens and Steelers proved that in back-to-back weeks.
Don't get too cocky about playing the Redskins next Sunday. Washington has the fifth-rated defense in the NFL and the 'Skins lead the league in pass defense. Plus, the Broncos hit the road for a 11 a.m. game at FedEx Field.
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