Miles
Well-known member
- Mar 18, 2019
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WHO WINS AT THE LINE OF SCRIMMAGE?
Football games are often won or lost at the line of scrimmage, and that will be particularly true on Sunday against the Steelers. When the Pittsburgh offense is on the field, the Broncos will face an offensive line that will be without two starters in Zach Banner and David DeCastro and a key reserve in Stefen Wisniewski. Roethlisberger was sacked just twice against the Giants in Week 1, but if Denver can get pressure with Jurrell Casey, Bradley Chubb, Jeremiah Attaochu and Co., they could find some success in the pass rush. Denver held Derrick Henry to a respectable 3.7 yards per carry in Week 1, and they'll need to be similarly stout against James Conner and Benny Snell Jr., who rushed for 113 yards last week.
The need to win at the line of scrimmage may be even more pronounced when Denver's offense is out there. The Steelers have dominant pass rushers in T.J. Watt, Bud Dupree and Heyward, who will challenge the Broncos across their offensive line. The matchup at right tackle will be particularly important, as Elijah Wilkinson struggled at times in the Broncos' Week 1 loss. Lock's mobility should help, though. He has been sacked just five times in six career games and stayed clean against the Titans. The Steelers sacked Daniel Jones three times in Week 1, so Lock must remain wary. Getting the running game going may be more of a challenge. The Broncos will be without Phillip Lindsay, and they'll face a Steelers defense that allowed Pro Bowler Saquon Barkley just 6 yards on 15 carries. It's imperative that the Broncos maintain a semblance of a running game to prevent the Steelers' pass rush from teeing off against Lock.
CAN DENVER'S SECONDARY HOLD UP WITHOUT A.J. BOUYE?
The Broncos placed their top cornerback A.J. Bouye on injured reserve on Wednesday, and the unit will be tested right away. Head Coach Vic Fangio suggested the team would use a cornerback lineup that features Bryce Callahan and third-round pick Michael Ojemudia as the outside cornerbacks and undrafted rookie Essang Bassey as the slot cornerback. The Steelers' wide receiving corps features several weapons, including JuJu Smith-Schuster, Diontae Johnson and second-round pick Chase Claypool. Smith-Schuster caught six passes for 69 yards and two touchdowns in Week 1, while Johnson added six catches for 57 yards. Smith-Schuster's size — he's 6-foot-1 — may force the Broncos to put the 6-foot-2 Ojemudia on him rather than the 5-foot-9 Callahan, but that's a tough ask for a rookie in his second career game. If there's one bright spot heading to Pittsburgh, it's that Ben Roethlisberger should give the Broncos' secondary chances to make plays. He didn't throw an interception in Week 1, but Kareem Jackson said this week that the secondary expects to have a chance to snag some game-changing interceptions.
"Going into this game, we all know Big Ben's going to throw it around the yard quite a bit," Jackson said. "We should definitely have some opportunities to get our hands on some balls. He's a big-time quarterback in this league. They're going to let him run the show as he has done for the last decade. For us, it's all about being in the right place at the right time, executing as a defense and … just going out and training ourselves to make those extra plays that we need to be successful as a defense."