The Pittsburgh Steelers moved to 2-0 on the season, as a good first-half performance and another lockdown defensive effort helped the team defeat the Denver Broncos 13-6 on the road. Pittsburgh will be undefeated heading into their home opener against the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 3.
The teams traded three-and-outs to open the game, and a third-down sack by OLB Alex Highsmith forced another Denver three-and-out. Pittsburgh would open up the scoring with 1:56 left in the first quarter on a 5-yard touchdown pass from QB Justin Fields to TE Darnell Washington on a 12-play, 78-yard drive that included a nice 16-yard scramble by Fields and a 14-yard pass to TE Pat Freiermuth to get Pittsburgh inside the 10-yard line. The Steelers took a 7-0 lead after Chris Boswell’s extra point.
Pittsburgh’s third drive was disrupted by three penalties by OT Broderick Jones, who subbed in for OT Troy Fautanu on the drive. One of them wiped out a 51-yard gain from Fields to WR George Pickens, and the Steelers were forced to punt.
With 2:28 left in the second half, Pittsburgh got a fourth-down stop on a 4th and 7 from their own 39, with LB Patrick Queen deflecting a pass by Nix. The Steelers were able to get a field goal after their two-minute drill, with WR Van Jefferson getting tackled at the Denver 4-yard line with 2 seconds left in the half. Boswell knocked home the 22-yard try, and the Steelers took a 10-0 lead into the half.
Neither team could move the ball much on their opening possession of the second half and the teams traded punts. After a Pittsburgh punt on its second possession of the half, the Broncos ran a trick play with a direct snap to RB Javonte Williams who flipped it to Nix, then hit WR Josh Reynolds downfield for a gain of 49 yards to the Pittsburgh 7. But two plays later, CB Cory Trice Jr., replacing an injured Donte Jackson, picked off Nix in the end zone and the Steelers got the ball back.
A 37-yard gain on a pass interference penalty by CB Patrick Surtain Jr. put the Steelers in range for Chris Boswell, and Boswell nailed a 53-yard try with 4:16 left in the third quarter to give the Steelers a 13-0 lead. They would take that lead into the fourth quarter.
On 4th and 6 from the Pittsburgh 42, Nix went to Reynolds again, this time hitting him for a gain of 22 down to the Pittsburgh 20. Pittsburgh would hold Denver to a field goal though, with K Wil Lutz converting on a 35-yard try to cut Pittsburgh’s lead to 13-3 with 10:42 left to play.
A key third down conversion for the Steelers deep in their own territory with under 10 minutes to go in the fourth quarter was wiped out by a holding call against OT Dan Moore Jr., and the Steelers ran it on 3rd and 15 and were forced to punt. Denver would take over at its own 31 with 8:43 left to play.
WR Lil’Jordan Humphrey made two big plays as Denver attempted to climb back in the game, with back-to-back receptions going for 27 and then 13 yards as Denver drove to the Pittsburgh 16. RB Javonte Williams also added a 13-yard gain, but the Broncos couldn’t punch it in, deciding to take the points with Wil Lutz knocking a 29-yard field goal through to make the game 13-6 with 1:54 left to play.
The Broncos would opt to kick it deep instead of lining up for the onside kick despite just having one timeout, but they forced a three-and-out and the Steelers would punt with 18 seconds, holding a 13-6 lead. After the punt return by Marvin Mims, the Broncos would have 8 seconds to find the end zone from their own 19. A 15-yard completion to Mims followed by a lateral to Reynolds would leave the Broncos with one second, and Nix’s throw was picked off by Kazee to end the game.
Denver is now 0-2, while the Steelers move to 2-0. It was a strong performance by the defense, and it’s always tough to win on the road, and Pittsburgh has now done so twice. It’s been a nice start to the season for the Steelers.
