STEELERS AT BRONCOS REVIEW

STEELERS AT BRONCOS REVIEW
Score: PITTSBURGH 34 - DENVER 17

Denver, CO - (MySportsbook.com) - Ben Roethlisberger threw a pair of touchdown passes and ran for another to lead the Pittsburgh Steelers over the Denver Broncos, 34-17, in the AFC Championship Game at Invesco Field.

Roethlisberger completed 21-of-29 passes for 275 yards without an interception for the Steelers, who became the first sixth seed to advance to the Super Bowl in NFL history. Pittsburgh's road to Detroit wasn't easy. The club needed to win three road games -- in Cincinnati, Indianapolis and Denver -- to punch its first Super Bowl ticket in 10 years.

"A lot of people said that if we have to throw the ball, we can't win the game," said Roethlisberger. "Myself, the line, we took offense of that. The last couple weeks, we've proven that's not the case. We have to keep going and make sure we remain a balanced offense like we have been doing."

Cedrick Wilson had five catches for 92 yards with a touchdown and Hines Ward added 59 yards and a score on five receptions for Pittsburgh, which won the AFC Championship Game for just the second time in six tries under head coach Bill Cowher. The Steelers had dropped their last three championship game appearances, all at home, and will be seeking their first Super Bowl win in 26 years.

Jerome Bettis also ran for a touchdown for Pittsburgh, which won Super Bowl XIV following the 1979 season for its last world championship. The club will face the NFC Champion Seattle Seahawks in the Super Bowl on February 5. The Seahawks defeated Carolina 34-14 on Sunday.

"I think throughout the course of these playoffs, I think we're a football team," said Cowher. "We have had really great weeks of work. We're playing our best football at the right time of the year. It was tough to do what we had to do to go to the three places and win those games. They were all challenges in themselves."

Jake Plummer completed 18-of-30 passes for 223 yards with a score, but he committed four turnovers that led to 21 points for Pittsburgh. Plummer was picked off twice and lost a pair of fumbles, as Denver's offense had trouble successfully moving the ball against the stout defense of the Steelers.

"Anytime you have four turnovers it?s hard to win football games," said coach Mike Shanahan. "This is a team game. You do it as a team, offense, defense and special teams. I think we got beat in all areas today."

Ashley Lelie had two catches for 68 yards with a touchdown for Denver, which failed to advance to its first Super Bowl since winning back-to-back titles in 1997 and 1998.

After trailing 24-3 at halftime and going three-and-out on its first offensive possession of the second half, the Broncos were in need of a break and got a pair on consecutive plays.

First, on a third-and-short for the Steelers, Champ Bailey jarred a potential first-down catch loose from Ward to force a punt. It was just the third time in 11 tries that the Broncos stopped the Steelers on third down to that point in the game.

Then, after it appeared that the Steelers pinned the Broncos' offense inside the five-yard line for a second consecutive time on the ensuing punt, video replays showed a touchback and Denver instead got the ball at the 20.

The Broncos took advantage of the overturned call and marched 80 yards in just 2:24 to get their first touchdown of the game. On 2nd-and-1 from the Pittsburgh 30, Plummer hit Lelie with a pass down the middle to cut the deficit to 14 points, 24-10, with 3:36 left in the third quarter.

Pittsburgh refused to let the Broncos' fortunes shift the momentum of the game and answered with an eight-play, 48-yard drive that bridged the third and fourth quarters and took nearly five minutes off the clock. The series resulted in a 42-yard field goal by Jeff Reed that pushed the lead to three possessions, 27-10.

Denver refused to go down silently, as Charlie Adams returned the ensuing kickoff 47 yards into Steelers' territory.

Plummer, though, committed his third turnover of the game on the first play from scrimmage when he was intercepted by Larry Foote.

The mistake didn't lead to points for the Steelers, but it did allow Pittsburgh to take precious minutes off the clock.

Denver did get a touchdown on its next drive when Mike Anderson bulled in from three yards out to cut the deficit to 27-17 with 7:52 remaining. The drive was aided by a pass interference call that brought the ball down to the Pittsburgh nine-yard line and a number of improv plays by Plummer, who was constantly under pressure.

The Broncos continued to make it interesting by holding the Steelers to a punt and taking over at their own 20 with 6:12 left. However, Denver couldn't even get one first down and turned it over when Plummer fumbled on a sack on fourth down.

Pittsburgh converted that miscue into seven points when Roethlisberger ran in from four yards out to ice the game with 2:59 remaining.

The score fittingly came on third down for the Steelers, who converted 10- of-16 third down tries for the game. Pittsburgh also held possession for just over 36 minutes, compared to nearly 24 for the Broncos.

Roethlisberger, at age 23, becomes the second youngest QB to lead his team to a Super Bowl, trailing only Dan Marino during the 1984 season.

"You know, he really, he's very composed," said Cowher of his QB. "You can see it from last year and this year. It's night and day. We have a young quarterback who didn't play young today."

Pittsburgh, which has won seven straight games dating back to the regular season, has captured both of its AFC titles under Cowher on the road.

The Steelers got the scoring started on their first possession, as Reed connected on a 47-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead. The 62-yard drive was highlighted by a pair of third-down conversions by Roethlisberger. Also, a Willie Parker fumble that was recovered by Denver was overturned after a video review.

On Denver's ensuing possession, Pittsburgh's defense forced the first of two Plummer first-half turnovers. On the third play, Joey Porter sacked the Denver quarterback, forcing a fumble that was recovered by Casey Hampton at the Broncos' 39 with 2:47 remaining in the opening quarter.

From there, Roethlisberger needed just five plays to put his club ahead 10-0. On the first play of the second quarter, the second-year QB hit wide receiver Wilson with a 12-yard TD pass in the back right corner of the end zone.

Denver responded by putting together a 12-play, 55-yard drive that resulted in a 23-yard Jason Elam field goal to cut the deficit to just seven points.

That, however, would be as close as the Broncos could get the rest of the way.

Roethlisberger and company answered with a 14-play, 80-yard march, capped by a Bettis three-yard TD run to increase the cushion to 17-3 with 1:55 left in the half. The possession, which took nearly 7 1/2 minutes off the clock, was highlighted by three third-down conversions by the Steelers. All three were passes by Roethlisberger.

Then, Plummer committed his second mistake of the half on the first play on the Broncos next possession. He attempted to hit tight end Stephen Alexander down the right sideline, but Ike Taylor stepped in front of the intended target and picked off the pass before going out of bounds at the Broncos' 38 with 1:48 left in the half.

Four plays and 1:41 later, Roethlisberger hit Ward in the back of the end zone for a 17-yard score and a 24-3 cushion at the break.

Game Notes

Bettis has a rushing TD in five straight playoff games and seven of the Steelers' last nine...Denver's Rod Smith's third catch of the game moved him into sole possession of first place on the Broncos' all-time playoff reception list, passing Shannon Sharpe's old mark of 47...Smith ended with four catches for 61 yards...Anderson ended with 36 yards rushing on nine carries...Pittsburgh's Brett Keisel had two sacks.

Panthers vs Seahawks Review

Game Capsules Used With Permission By Our Sponsor MySportsbook.com

Top | NFL Weekly Reviews | NFL Football Betting Articles