Steelers corral Broncos behind Big Ben's shooter and Carter's lasso

November 10, 1:01 AMPittsburgh Sports ExaminerMatt Pawlikowski

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Steelers Rashard Mendenhall had 155 yards against the Broncos in a 28-7 win.
(AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

DENVER - It was Steelers coach Mike Tomlin's 40th game as a coach. It was a playoff atmosphere, and for a half it had the feel of a playoff football game as it was 7-3.

The second half was a different ball game as the Steelers took home a 28-10 win over the Broncos.

For starters, the Steelers offense held the ball for over 22 minutes as they went to the muddle huddle. They set a team record for scoring 27 points or more a fifth consecutive game, and more important, returned to smashmouth football.

It is the fifth consecutive win for the team (6-2) and ties them for the lead in the AFC North and sets up a big match-up with the Bengals next Sunday for the lead in the AFC North.

"It's a good win for us, but I'm not satisfied," said Roethlisberger, who was praised by Denver coach Josh McDaniels after the contest.  "We've got a long way to go offensively. We made a lot of mistakes, and we have to keep searching for the ceiling."

A number of factors played into the Steelers dominating win. Rashard Mendenhall had a breakout game, gaining 155 yards on 22 carries. Ben Roethlisberger was once again on fire hitting 21 of 29 passes for 239 yards and three touchdowns.

But the defense, which seemed to have a little fire to it considering Tomlin drilled them all week about not being the No. 1 defense (Denver was), was the difference maker. They held Denver to just 26 rushing yards, five of 14 on third down conversions, and more importantly did not allow an offensive touchdown.

They also provided the game-changing play via Tyrone Carter's 48-yard interception return in the second quarter. Prior to that Broncos quarterback Kyle Orton had thrown just one pick all season. That made it a 7-3 game at the half.

The Steelers came out on fire in the third quarter running the muddle offense and behind Roethlisberger were driving early in the third quarter for the end zone, which was something they had not done in four quarters. But after a short pass up the middle to Holmes, Roethlisberger was sacked by Kenny Peterson. He fumbled the ball and Robert Ayers picked it up and took it back 54 yards for a score.

Then came Roethlisberger's resiliency and it took all of four plays. Santonio Holmes, who led all receivers with 93 yards on six catches, had a 35-yard reception to the three-yard line with 10:18 remaining in the quarter and the Steelers hit pay dirt when Hines Ward caught a three-yard touchdown pass in the back of the end zone to re-take the lead, 14-10.

The Steeler defenses helped with the next score as Troy Polamalu, who was all over the field once again, first stopped Corey Buckhalter then on the next play with 8:39 remaining in the fourth quarter grabbed an Orton pass intended for Brandon Marshall.

Three plays later Roethlisberger, with time from some great line play, found Mike Wallace from 25 yards out to make it a 21-10 game.

A bubble screen to Hines Ward (7 for 44 yards, two touchdowns) in which he jumped over Champ Bailey to score his 76th career touchdown was the icing on the cake with 1:27 left in the game.

Then to add insult to injury, Carter, who was making the start in place of Ryan Clark, had his second interception of the night, the third of Orton in the game, to close things out. It marked Carter's fourth interception in his last three starts.

Brett Keisel had two sacks on the night.

Scoreboard
Final 1 2 3 4 T
Pittsburgh (6-2-0) « 0 7 7 14 -28
Denver (6-2-0)          3 0 7 0 - 10

Game Leaders
Steelers Broncos
Pass: B. Roethlisberger (21-29, 233) K. Orton (23-38, 221)
Rush: R. Mendenhall (22-155) C. Buckhalter (9-24)
Rec: S. Holmes (6-93) B. Marshall (11-112)

Scoring Summary
1ST QUARTER
FG Matt Prater 40 Yd, 10:24. Drive: 9 plays, 56 yards in 4:36.
2ND QUARTER
TD Tyrone Carter, 48 Yd interception return (Jeff Reed kick is good), 12:50.
3RD QUARTER
TD Robert Ayers, 54 Yd fumble return (Matt Prater kick is good), 11:16.
TD Hines Ward, 3 Yd pass from Ben Roethlisberger (Jeff Reed kick is good), 9:09. Drive: 4 plays, 80 yards in 2:07.
4TH QUARTER
TD Mike Wallace, 25 Yd pass from Ben Roethlisberger (Jeff Reed kick is good), 7:03. Drive: 3 plays, 25 yards in 1:28.
TD Hines Ward, 3 Yd pass from Ben Roethlisberger (Jeff Reed kick is good), 1:22. Drive: 11 plays, 74 yards in 5:08.