With the 2024 NFL schedule announced, I want to go through each of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ opponents and dive deep into the makeup of each team, including a recap of their offseason moves, key storylines to watch, and their series history against the Steelers. Today we will be looking at Week 2 against the Denver Broncos.
The Broncos are in an interesting spot right now. They are in the middle of a rebuild, but they have a huge amount of money tied up in the contract of Russell Wilson for the next two seasons. They drafted Bo Nix in the first round to be the quarterback of the future, but they didn’t have a ton of money to help him out this offseason. They got rid of WR Jerry Jeudy via trade to the Cleveland Browns, and he wasn’t the only player to exit the team, with several free agents signing elsewhere.
Here is a breakdown of the notable additions and departures since the end of the 2023 season for the Broncos:
Additions:
– EDGE John Franklin-Myers (trade)
– QB Zach Wilson (trade)
– CB Levi Wallace
– LB Cody Barton
– WR Josh Reynolds
– S Brandon Jones
– DL Malcolm Roach
Departures:
– QB Russell Wilson
– S Justin Simmons
– LB Josey Jewell
– WR Jerry Jeudy (trade)
– TE Chris Manhertz
– DB K’Waun Williams
– DT Mike Purcell
– C Lloyd Cushenberry III
– CB Fabian Moreau
Draft Class:
– QB Bo Nix
– OLB Jonah Elliss
– WR Troy Franklin
– CB Kris Abrams-Draine
– RB Audric Estime
– WR Devaughn Vele
– OG Nick Gargiulo
That is a lot more value departing than it is coming in, which makes sense, given the tricky cap situation in Denver. They restructured a handful of contracts to allow for some maneuvering in free agency, but they finished 8-9 last season with a better roster than they currently have. The draft helped fill some holes, like at quarterback, EDGE, WR, and CB.
Courtland Sutton is the leader of the WRs now, and he is holding out for a better contract, which the Broncos might have difficulty fitting into their cap picture the next couple of years. Sean Payton is reportedly excited about the two rookie receivers, including Vele, who he talked highly of during rookie minicamp.
The linebacker position has seen a lot of change in Denver. Jewell signed a big contract elsewhere, Barton joined the team on a smaller contract, and Drew Sanders, who was looking for a breakout second season, just suffered an Achilles injury and will almost certainly miss Week 2.
The Broncos were near the bottom of the league in 2023 in passing yards with 3,566 but still outpaced the Steelers with 3,421. As for rushing, the Broncos ranked 18th with 1,810 rushing yards to the Steelers’ 2,010. It is hard to imagine the offense getting better after losing its quarterback, best receiver, and top offensive lineman, but there is always the wild card of a rookie first-round quarterback that could help revive their attack.
On defense, the Broncos were ranked 30th against the run with 137.1 yards per game allowed and 23rd against the pass with 233.6 yards per game allowed. The Steelers were better against both, with the 21st-ranked run defense (118.6 yards/game) and 16th-ranked passing defense (224.9 yards/game).
Head coach Sean Payton took over in 2023, and his offensive and defensive coordinators have remained the same over his first two years – Joe Lombardi on offense and Vance Joseph on defense.
Broncos 2023 record: 8-9
Broncos three-year split: 20-31
Broncos-Steelers series record: 20-13-1 (Broncos)
Series record in Denver: 13-5-1 (Broncos)
Most recent matchup: 27-19 Steelers (2021)
The big storyline in this game will be Russell Wilson’s return after a rough two-year stint in Denver. Both sides are looking to get that bad taste out of their mouths, and this will be the first opportunity to do it early on in the season. Payton and Wilson had a rough relationship, by all accounts, so they will both be looking to stick it to the other party. They will probably downplay it to the media, but this is a classic revenge game.
Wilson is familiar with the Broncos defense and vice versa, so that will be another interesting dynamic.
There is also the altitude component of playing in Denver, especially early in the season when players are still getting into game shape. The oxygen is thinner up there, which can create some issues on the conditioning front.
Broncos 2023 by the numbers:
Offense–
Scoring: 21.0 PPG (20th)
Passing: 191.9 Yds/G (24th)
Rushing: 106.5 Yds/G (19th)
Defense–
Scoring: 24.3 PPG (27th)
Passing: 233.6 Yds/G (23rd)
Rushing: 137.1 Yds/G (30th)
Oddsmakers over at DraftKings opened the spread at -3 in favor of the Steelers. It is one of just six games the Steelers opened with favorable odds in.
