The Pittsburgh Steelers are on the road for a second-straight week to open the season, this time against the Denver Broncos. This game was supposed to have some pretty notable storylines, but Russell Wilson’s calf injury is preventing the revenge game from taking place. Now he will be helping Justin Fields from the sideline. Fields said that Wilson has been a big help providing insight on his former team all week.
The Steelers’ offense should look a little different this week with them having a full week to prepare for Fields leading the offense. They intentionally avoided the middle of the field in Week 1 against the Atlanta Falcons to avoid their elite safety tandem, but things should open up this week a bit.
On the other side, rookie QB Bo Nix will attempt to get his first win. He threw the ball 42 times, and also showed off his mobility with a rushing touchdown. Mike Tomlin has a good track record against rookie quarterbacks, but that has been tested more often in recent years. The Steelers have historically had trouble winning on the road in Denver.
The Steelers’ defensive line put in a dominant performance in Week 1, and should have every opportunity to do that once again. The Broncos OL is roughly average, and two of their starters were dealing with injuries earlier in the week.
This could be the debut of 2024 first-round OT Troy Fautanu with 2023 first-round OT Broderick Jones going to the bench. We will see how that shakes out in the first offensive drive, but that has been the indication from Steelers insiders throughout the week. He could have his hands full against Jonathon Cooper, who was one of the NFL’s top OLBs in Week 1.
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Steelers Inactives
No. 3 QB Russell Wilson (3rd QB)
No. 10 WR Roman Wilson
No. 34 SS Jalen Elliott
No. 38 S Terrell Edmunds
No. 73 OG Isaac Seumalo
No. 94 DL Dean Lowry
Broncos Inactives
No. 4 QB Zach Wilson (3rd QB)
No. 17 WR Devaughn Vele
No. 25 RB Blake Watson
No. 31 CB Kris Abrams-Draine
No. 73 OT Frank Crum
No. 85 TE Lucas Krull
No. 96 DL Eyioma Uwazurike
Wilson is once again the emergency third quarterback.
The Steelers have won the coin toss and deferred to the second half. They will kick and start the game on defense.
START OF GAME
The Steelers kicked it through the back of the end zone for a touchback.
1st and 10, Javonte Williams up the middle for 3 yards on first down, stopped by Keeanu Benton. 2nd and 7, Patrick Queen and Alex Highsmith teamed up for a tackle in the backfield for a loss of three. 3rd and 10, complete to Greg Dulcich for 7 yards, tackled by Minkah Fitzpatrick and Beanie Bishop Jr. The punt went 53 yards, returned 14 by Calvin Austin III.
1st and 10, Najee Harris up the middle for 1 yard. 2nd and 9, Fields incomplete to Harris in the flat. 3rd and 9, Fields scrambled with nothing downfield. He gained 7, but it wasn’t enough. Corliss Waitman’s punt went 53 yards out of bounds. Not a bad first punt for Waitman after Cameron Johnston’s season-ending knee injury last week.
1st and 10, Nix complete to Williams for 6 yards. 2nd and 4, Jaleel McLaughlin off left tackle for 2 yards. 3rd and 2, Alex Highsmith was held and still got the sack. Another three-and-out. The punt went 52 yards, returned 10, but Nick Herbig holding wiped it out. The Steelers would have had decent field position. Special teams penalties hurt last week, and not a great start here.
Fields scrambled on first down for 1 yard. 2nd and 9, Harris off left tackle for 4 yards. 3rd and 5, Fields connected with George Pickens over the middle for 13 yards.
1st and 10, Fields escaped a chasedown for a would-be sack and picked up 16 up the left sideline.
1st and 10, Jaylen Warren off right tackle for 4 yards. 2nd and 6, Harris off right tackle for 3 yards. 3rd and 3, Jonathon Cooper called for a neutral zone infraction to give the Steelers a first down.
1st and 10, Warren up the middle for 3 yards. 2nd and 7, Warren up the middle for 11 yards.
1st and 10, Fields complete to Pat Freiermuth for 14 yards. Great catch by Freiermuth.
1st and goal, Fields sacked by Jonah Elliss. 2nd and goal from the 10, Harris picked up five off left tackle. 3rd and goal from the 5, Fields to big TE Darnell Washington out wide for the score. That is exactly how they need to use the 6-7 TE. 7-0 Steelers.
The kickoff went through the end zone for a touchback.
1st and 10, Nix under pressure and complete to Michael Burton for 1 yard. 2nd and 9, complete to Lil’Jordan Humphrey for 6 yards. He slipped off some tackles for extra yards. 3rd and 3, Nix complete to Williams for 7 yards and brought down by Queen.
END OF 1ST QUARTER 7-0 STEELERS
1st and 10, Williams up the middle for 4 yards. 2nd and 6, deep incompletion to Dulcich. 3rd and 6, Joey Porter Jr. in tight coverage on Josh Reynolds for an incompletion. The punt was downed inside the 1-yard line. The Broncos forced two safeties against the Seahawks last week, for what it’s worth.
Troy Fautanu was in for the first two drives, but it would appear Broderick Jones is back in for the third drive.
1st and 10, Fields up the middle for 2 yards. 2nd and 8, Harris up the middle for 8 yards.
1st and 10, Harris around the right end for 2 yards. 2nd and 8, complete to Warren for 12 yards.
1st and 10, Fields threw the ball away with a lot of pressure. 2nd and 8, Warren off right tackle for 4 yards. 3rd and 6, false start called on Jones. 3rd and 11, complete to Pickens for 16 yards with Pat Surtain in coverage. Great separation by Pickens.
1st and 10, Harris up the middle for 11 yards.
1st and 10, Harris gained 4, but Jones called for holding. Two penalties on Jones. Can they overcome his mistakes again? 1st and 20, Warren off left tackle for 2 yards. 2nd and 18, Fields connected with Pickens downfield on a beautiful play, but Jones called for holding again. 2nd and 28, Harris gained 5 on a checkdown. 3rd and 23, Fields complete to Freiermuth for 11 yards.
The punt went for a touchback. Brutal way to end an exciting drive. They still managed to flip the field from their own 1-yard line to the Denver 20.
1st and 10, Alex Highsmith tackled Humphrey to limit the completion to 4. 2nd and 6, Tyler Badie kept the legs churning for 16 yards.
1st and 10, Highsmith called for neutral zone infraction. 1st and 5, Nix incomplete. Broncos called a timeout. 2nd and 5, Nix scrambled for 13 yards.
1st and 10, Williams off left tackle for 3 yards. 2nd and 7, T.J. Watt sacked Nix by his shoe string. 3rd and 15, Marvin Mims tackled after a gain of 9 by Minkah Fitzpatrick. Steelers called their first timeout. 4th and 7, Nix nearly intercepted by Queen at the line of scrimmage, but it was a turnover on downs.
1st and 10, Fields rolled out to his right and complete to Van Jefferson. Defensive holding wipes out the play and gives the Steelers a first down.
TWO MINUTE WARNING
1st and 10, Fields had all day, but got sacked with nothing open. 2nd and 11, Harris off right tackle for 7 yards. 3rd and 4, Fields complete to Calvin Austin III for 6 yards.
1st and 10, Warren off right guard for 4 yards. 2nd and 6, Jefferson nearly caught the deep pass, but it fell incomplete. Flag down on the play and Riley Moss down for the Broncos. Pass interference gives the Steelers the ball at the 13-yard line.
1st and 10, Fields complete to Warren for 7 yards. Timeout called. 2nd and 3, Fields complete to Pickens for a touchdown, but an illegal pick called on Van Jefferson. 2nd and 13 with 10 seconds remaining, complete to Jefferson for 12 yards. Timeout called with one second remaining. Chris Boswell makes the game 10-0 to end the half. 10-0 Steelers.
END OF 1ST HALF 10-0 STEELERS
Join us for the second half here.
