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The Denver Broncos and the Pittsburgh Steelers are one step away from the AFC Championship game, and one step closer to realising their Super Bowl dreams as they face off in the divisional round. Join The Roar for live scores and commentary from 8:40 am (AEDT).
The last time the Broncos and the Steelers matched up was Week 15, when Pittsburgh handed Denver their fourth and final loss of their 12-win regular season. It was a shootout between the two quarterbacks, and a furious Steelers comeback in the fourth quarter gave Pittsburgh the win at home with an Antonio Brown touchdown in the final minute to win it.
Brock Osweiler finished with 296 yards, three touchdowns and an interception, completing 21 of 44 passes, while Ben Roethlisberger finished with 380 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions, completing 40 of 55 passes.
Both teams were lacklustre on the ground, but the receivers came through all game long. Emmanuel Sanders finished with 10 catches for 181 yards and a score, while Antonio Brown put up 189 yards and two touchdowns off 16 catches.
One of the Broncos best wins of the year, and one that’s in their recent memory, was their Week 16 overtime win against the Cincinnati Bengals, the team who the Steelers knocked out in the divisional round to set up their meeting with Denver.
AJ McCarron threw for 200 yards and a touchdown, but Osweiler just played better, putting up 299 yards and a touchdown. The difference for the Broncos was the road game – Jeremy Hill carried the ball 19 times for 63 yards, while CJ Anderson logged single digit carries (9) but put up 73 yards and a score.
Peyton Manning will be playing in his first game since Week 10, and it’ll be fascinating to see how one of the best quarterbacks in the league bounces back from not playing in a game for two months.
Before he was deactivated midway through the season, the numbers weren’t great for the five time MVP. Manning had thrown for 2,249 yards with a 59.8 per cent completion rate, but his 9-17 TD-INT ratio, along with his 67.9 passer rating, was cause for worry.
The Steelers finished 2015 with a 10-6 record, but go up against Denver with confidence after getting their first win of the playoffs against the Bengals last week in the wild card round.
Despite a fourth quarter comeback, Pittsburgh held their own on the road to outlast Cincinnati 18-16 behind 229 passing yards and a touchdown from Ben Roethlisberger, seven catches for 119 yards from Antonio Brown and three sacks, three forced fumbles and an interception.
Roethlisberger will be playing in the game against Denver, despite being listed as questionable on the injury report with a right shoulder injury, and when he took the field this season (12 games played, 11 games started), he put up 3,938 yards, completing 68 per cent of his passes for 21 touchdowns, 16 interceptions and a 94.5 passer rating.
Antonio Brown earned Pro Bowl and First Team All-Pro nods this season after leading the league in receptions (136) and posting 1,834 receiving yards, second only to Julio Jones’ 1,871 yards.
With Brown ruled out from Sunday’s game with a concussion, the Steelers’ could suffer as their number one target is forced to watch from the sidelines.
Roethlisberger will have to rely on Heath Miller, Martavis Bryant and Markus Wheaton to get the job done, and added pressure will be on the quarterback as their running back, DeAngelo Williams, is also ruled out of the game with a foot injury he incurred in the Steelers’ Week 17 win over the Cleveland Browns.
Elsewhere for the Steelers, fullback Will Johnson (hamstring) is questionable, while tight end Matt Spaeth (not injury related), linebacker James Harrison (not injury related), safety Will Allen (not injury related), safety Robert Golden (shoulder), defensive end Cameron Heyward (back) and linebackers Ryan Shazier (knee) and Vince Williams (hamstring) are all probable.
The Broncos have 14 players on their injury report – the only questionable one is quarterback Brock Osweiler (knee). Tight end Daniel Owens (knees), quarterback Peyton Manning (foot), defensive end Malik Jackson (illness), cornerback Chris Harris Jr. (shoulder), guard Robert Myers Jr. (illness), center/guard Max Garcia (groin), safeties Darian Stewart (hamstring) and T.J. Ward (ankle), inside linebackers Todd Davis (shoulder) and Brandon Marshall (ankle) and outside linebackers Von Miller (illness) and DeMarcus Ware (knee) are all probable.
Prediction: With Peyton Manning back in the fold, despite his struggles earlier in the year, the Broncos will win in a game dominated by big performances by the quarterbacks – expect 300+ yards and three touchdowns by both Manning and Roethlisberger.
The Steelers may have won on the road last week, but without Antonio Brown and DeAngelo Williams, they will be no match for a rejuvenated Denver offence led by The Sheriff and an explosive defensive attack.
Will Peyton be one step closer to his second Super Bowl ring?
Join The Roar this morning at 8:40 am AEDT for live score updates and debate in our live blog.
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