Steelers lose to Broncos in opener
It wasn’t the opening result that any of us hoped for……or expected.
The Steelers lost to Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos 31-19. And in a painful reminder of how last season ended, Demaryius Thomas ran past Steelers defenders on a 71-yard touchdown reception.
There were some things that went well for the Steelers. For example, they held the ball for a full 14:24 in the third quarter. That left the Broncos with a mere 36 seconds to try to do any damage. Unfortunately, it was during that 36 seconds that Manning hit Demarius Thomas for that deja vu touchdown pass.
The defense also had a few positive moments, like the sacks by Larry Foote and Jason Worilds, and the fumble recovery by LaMarr Woodley. But overall, the positive points in the game were few.
New offensive coordinator Todd Haley probably didn’t have the debut that he was hoping for. His offense looked lackluster at times. For example, the Steelers were only able to rush for 32 yards on 15 attempts in the first half, despite the fact that at times it looked like they had completely abandoned the passing game. The offense only generated 75 rushing yards in the entire game.
The passing game looked very similar to what we saw in the preseason. It mainly consisted of Roethlisberger throwing quick, short passes. Gone were the long bombs downfield to Mike Wallace that had become so popular under former offensive coordinator Bruce Arians. In fact, the only time the Steelers’ offense looked exciting was when Big Ben went to the no-huddle offense. That’s when he started slinging passes to Antonio Brown and Emmanuel Sanders.
But there were a few things that looked far too familiar, and may prove to be a cause for concern. For example, Big Ben was sacked 5 times during the game. And the offensive line was plagued by injuries and often struggled during the game. And the offense seemed comfortable settling for field goals instead of touchdowns. And the Steelers’ cornerbacks often seemed completely incapable of defending the pass. They allowed Peyton Manning to complete 19 of 26 passes for 253 yards and a 129.2 passer rating.
All of those things were problems that we thought would be fixed this year. But apparently, they’re still works in progress.
It’s only one game, so it’s much too early to get down on the Steelers. They have plenty of time to turn things around. But Mike Tomlin and the Steelers’ coaches are going to have plenty of things to try to fix before next week’s game against the New York Jets.
Notes: Offensive linemen Marcus Gilbert and Ramon Foster both left the game with injuries. Gilbert had a knee injury, and Foster suffered an eye injury.
I felt like something was holding our guys back, not sure what because I am no pro at this but it all seemed to be slow motion. Troy was not the beast I love to see and I do hope there will be a lesson learned here by the next game so we can kick some ….well you know!
1Ok would be feeling different if Ben doesn’t throw the pik 6 marching on our way down for the tie ? Seems we were scoring when we had to. There a lot to be concerned with. Mainly injuries ! Gooo steelers !!
2Our secondary seemed incapable of playing the bump and run coverage ordered by LeBeau and unenthusiastic about tackling.
3What I took away from the game is that Peyton Manning is back. Really back.
And the Broncos defense got better from last year. Great pass rushing and converage
I loved the new offense, and like Mark said, if Ben doesn’t try to force it at the end, it might have been a different outcome. The OL looked better than last year too.
Defense looked a little flat, but Manning makes a lot of defenses look worse.
So hopefully the injuries are minimal. And if the Broncos put that kind of product on the field all year, we’ll see them again in the playoffs. And wouldn’t THAT be a better time to beat them?
4I get it: first game, not at home, altitude and missing a few key players.
Looked decent offensively. I was happy with no interceptions in the first 3 quarters. That’s unusual. By default, I expect 2 with little consequence. Also, nice to see more options at WR and RB. Heath and Ben is our great go-to combination.
@ Connie, I differ with #43 on Monday: I thought he was in there, maybe a step or two off, but he was there. I would like to see more aggressive pass coverage. All Steeler’s fans have been saying that for the last 3 years. Run D was good.
Like most of you on this comment thread: let’s keep injuries down and watch film from Week #1 so we can improve.
-Charles J. Wiltraut
I was fine up until the 4th quarter implosion. O-line got tired, protection failed.
5Deja vu’ or what?!!
First scoring opportunity of the season.
Mid second quarter.
Huge OL, all still playing. Big backs Dwyer and Redman.
A chance to pump up the O and the D, make a point, set the tempo.
What do they do?
First and goal at the three and they show no faith in their OL and backs to run it in on three tries from the three yard line.
That would be one yard a carry.
Moreno waltzed in from the six for Denver.
Horrible, terrible and deflating for the offense and defense.
Yes it’s early. Even more reason to pound it in for the first score of the year.
Also, the third down play (another pass) was pathetic with Miller standing in the end zone waiting all alone and … nothing.
Very disappointing that first scoring opportunity. First and goal from the three = the usual three lousy points just like what occurred so many times last year in the red zone.
I remember last year praying a loose runner or receiver would score and not be tackled on the five or four or THREE because I could see those three lousy points coming a mile away. (no pun)
Deja vu’ all over again..
6@Mark,
7I agree with you. Ben’s pick 6 was heartbreaking. But I’ve come to expect a few untimely interceptions by Ben. He’s just never going to be Tom Brady or Peyton Manning. Ben is more in the mold of Brett Favre; he’s a gunslinger. He’s going to make some stupid mistakes, but he’s going to do it because he’s trying to make a play. And sometimes, that same gunslinging mentality is going to win the game for us. So you take the good with the bad when it comes to Big Ben.
Dan & Jim,
The defense didn’t look particularly sharp. But it’s still early. Remember what happened in the first game last year? Yikes!
Both Ryan Clark and James Harrison didn’t play. That’s a big loss. I don’t think fans give Clark enough credit for what he does back there. And Chris Carter and Jason Worilds don’t even come close to being able to replace James Harrison.
Things will get better. The defense always ends up in the Top 5 by the end of the season.
8@Charles – If we can keep injuries down on both sides of the ball, I agree with you that things are going to be fine. But I’m nervous about the injuries that we’ve already seen, particularly on the offensive line.
9HP,
I agree with you. I thought that Bruce Arians was calling the plays on that possession. Three pass plays from the 3 yard line??????!!!!!
Redman and Dwyer would have been able to get the ball into the endzone if given the chance. But they weren’t.
That last pass to Heath was just pathetic. Heath was wide open. If Ben had put a little more touch on the pass, it would have been an easy TD.
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