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Week 7 Game Recap: Pittsburgh Steelers 28, Denver Broncos 31
What you need to know
| Pittsburgh Steelers |
Pittsburgh came into this Sunday night contest with a perceived match up advantage in nearly all phases of the game. They struggled in the first half, leading to a 14 point deficit at halftime which they erased by the fourth quarter. By that time, though, the Broncos offense was clicking, and was able to drive down the field for a game winning, last second field goal. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger had an up and down game, as he threw for four touchdowns but also committed three costly turnovers that ultimately might have been the difference in the game.
Roethlisberger preferred his three leading targets: Hines Ward, Santonio Holmes, and Heath Miller. Miller in particular had a great game, as the Steelers' game plan featured lots of passing in the middle of the field, particularly in the red zone. Miller had two touchdown catches and 50 yards. Ward and Holmes also had good games, finishing one and two on the team in receptions and yardage, respectively, while Holmes added a score. The other touchdown toss went to tight end Matt Spaeth.
Willie Parker displayed his impressive quickness on three runs of 20 plus yards, but was also met at or behind the line by Denver's rush defense on several occasions. He lost a couple of looks, including one near the goal line, to second string running back Najeh Davenport. Overall, though, he had a solid game with 97 yards on 21 carries with a long of 27. Roethlisberger contributed a few timely scrambles that kept the chains moving and tightened up the soft zone Denver was running most of the game.
The Steelers' defense was not as stout as expected, giving up three passing touchdowns. They had a below average game defending the run, although they still only gave up 90 yards at a 3.75 average clip. Larry Foote had a great game with both an interception and a forced fumble, while Anthony Smith also had a pick. The pass rush got to Cutler twice, although for the most part weren't able to hit the Broncos' signal caller. Defensive end Aaron Smith injured his knee early in the game and did not return.
| Denver Broncos |
Denver earned their third victory of the year and again it came in dramatic fashion. Once again, the win came down to the sure-footed Jason Elam, whose 49 yard field goal as time expired snapped Denver's three game losing streak. His game winning score was set up by Jay Cutler's third fourth quarter game winning drive of the season. Cutler showed great poise and presence in effectively leading the Broncos downfield with only 90 seconds remaining in the game. Overall, it was Cutler's best game as a professional, earning him his best ever rating of 107.9 while throwing three touchdowns. It wasn't all great for Cutler, who displayed too much confidence in him arm in some situations, which resulted in two interceptions which should have never been thrown. Despite those turnovers, Cutler showed an impressive amount of accuracy, arm strength, confidence, escapability, and all around good quarterback play. If he can eliminate the turnovers, he might just make the leap into the game's best quarterbacks club.
The Broncos running game never really got on track, but was used enough to prove a balancing counterpoint to the passing game. Starter Travis Henry had 51 yards on 17 carries with a long of 8, which is about par for the course when it comes to the Broncos against a tough 3-4 defense. Henry left the game in the third quarter with bruised ribs and did not return. Jay Cutler provided a spark with his scrambles out of the backfield, including a 31 yard scamper on a scoring drive in the second half. In all, the running game earned 90 yards on 24 carries for an average of 3.75 yards.
Denver's defense, which was supposed to be man handled on the ground passed on the match up, playing admirably, especially in the first half. They were focused, emotional, and effective, especially in taking advantage of turnover opportunities and rushing the passer. Both Dre Bly and D.J. Williams caught interceptions, while the defensive line accounted for four sacks, including two by second-year starting end Elvis Dumervil. One Dumervil sack forced a Roethlisberger fumbles which rookie lineman Tim Crowder scooped up and returned for a 50 yard touchdown. The running defense gave up several long runs to Willie Parker, but also stuffed him for minimal gains on just as many occasions. The pass defense struggled a bit without Champ Bailey (quadriceps), although their opportunism led to the two aforementioned interceptions. Fill in starting cornerback Dominique Foxworth led the team in tackles with ten. Dry Bly injured his shoulder on his first half interception, but continued to play.
What you ought to know
| QB Ben Roethlisberger, Pass: 24 - 35 - 290 - 4 TD / 2 INT, Rush: 3 - 20 - 0 |
Roethlisberger's four touchdowns were nice, but his three turnovers were costly. His fumble that was returned for a touchdown was in particular was hard to swallow, as he admitted after the game he should have called time out when he saw what the defense was about to run. Roethlisberger three mostly to his three favorite targets: Ward, Holmes, and Miller. He connected with Miller for two short touchdowns, found tight end Matt Spaeth wide open for a second half score, and hit Holmes on a six point strike as well. Roethlisberger was under consistent and heavy pressure for the Denver pass rush, and was sacked four times. He avoided several potential sacks as well, and used his elusiveness and big frame to escape pressure. Roethlisberger scrambled effectively a few times, and also used his feet to buy him time to find open receivers. It was an up and down game for Roethlisberger, but it was still his best fantasy performance of the season.
| RB Willie Parker, Rush: 21 - 93 - 0, Rec: 2 - 34 - 0 (3 targets) |
Parker had a rough time running the ball early on, but got on track thanks to three 20 plus yard gains. His speed is unmatched, and he is very hard to catch once he gets past the first two levels of the defense. Despite the good match up, he didn't perform as well as expected. Denver clearly focused on stopping the run in this game, and while he did gain 127 total yards, he didn't find the end zone. Backup Najeh Davenport spelled him a couple times, including one down near the goal line.
| RB Najeh Davenport, Rush: 2 - 6 - 0 |
Davenport had his lowest output of the season, only earning two carries and seeing no targets in the passing game.
| RB Carey Davis, Rec: 1 - 9 - 0 (1 targets) |
Davis had one look out of the back field on the Steelers' last drive of the game.
| WR Hines Ward, Rec: 7 - 78 - 0 (13 targets) |
Ward came back after the Steelers' bye week and a nagging injury to lead the team in targets, receptions, and yards. He was Roethlisberger's safety valve target, and as such was frequently targeted after a Roethlisberger scramble to avoid the Denver pass rush. Ward sat down in front of the soft zone Denver was running and produced several middle length receptions, including several for first downs. He had a 12 yard reception called back on a penalty. Ward had a few drops in the first half.
| WR Santonio Holmes, Rec: 6 - 54 - 1 (10 targets) |
Holmes was second on the Steelers in targets, and also finished second in receptions and yards. Roethlisberger looked to him more in the first half, although there were less total passes in the second half. Despite being a deep threat, his longest catch was 16 yards. Holmes caught a 13 yard touchdown pass on the Steelers' first drive of the second half.
| WR Cedrick Wilson, Rec: 1 - 12 - 0 (1 targets) |
Wilson had a nice second half catch for a clutch third down conversion.
| WR Nate Washington, Rec: 1 - 40 - 0 (1 targets) |
Washington had one catch, and it was a big one. He caught a deep ball over the Denver defense on Pittsburgh's first third down of the game.
| TE Heath Miller, Rec: 5 - 50 - 2 (5 targets) |
Miller was Pittsburgh's third most targeted receiver, and was especially effective in the red zone. He caught two short touchdown passes from Ben Roethlisberger.
| TE Matt Spaeth, Rec: 1 - 13 - 1 (1 targets) |
Spaeth made the most of his one target, converting a wide open look into a 13 yard touchdown that brought the Steelers to within one touchdown during the fourth quarter.
| PK Jeff Reed 0 - 1 FG, 4 - 4 XP, 4 points |
Reed made all four of his PATs, but missed a 65 yard field goal attempt at the end of the first half. It would have been an NFL record, but was short.
| PIT Rush Defense |
Pittsburgh's rush defense allowed 90 total yards. They contained Travis Henry, holding him to 51 yards on 17 carries with no scores. 41 yards came on Jay Cutler scrambles. They allowed no touchdowns and while forcing one Henry fumble, didn't make any turnovers.
| PIT Pass Defense |
Pittsburgh's pass defense gave up 248 yards on 22 of 29 passing for an average of 8.455 yards per attempt. They allowed three touchdowns and had two interceptions. They sacked Broncos' quarterback Jay Cutler two times.
| QB Jay Cutler, Pass: 22 - 29 - 248 - 3 TD / 2 INT, Rush: 3 - 41 - 0 |
Cutler had his best game yet as a professional, despite throwing two interceptions. He showed his strong arm, quick release, accuracy, elusiveness, and determination throughout the game. Cutler's three touchdowns were spread among the three offensive receiving positions: wide receiver Brandon Stokley, running back Cecil Sapp, and tight end Tony Scheffler. His favorite targets were Brandon Marshall, Stokley and Scheffler. The two interceptions Cutler threw should have never been thrown; they were examples of a young quarterback placing too much faith in his arm. His performance down the stretch was clutch, as he calmly and efficiently led his offense down the field with only 90 seconds remaining in the game for Jason Elam's victorious field goal kick. Overall, it was Cutler's best fantasy performance of the 2007 season.
| RB Travis Henry, Rush: 17 - 51 - 0 |
Henry had a decent game considering the tough match up, but was forced to leave the game in the third quarter with bruised ribs. He had a hard time finding holes in Pittsburgh's tough 3-4 alignment. The new faces on the offensive line didn't seem to either help or hurt him.
| RB Selvin Young, Rush: 2 - 1 - 0, Rec: 1 - 16 - 0 (1 targets) |
Young had a couple of ineffective rush attempts, and a nice screen pass for a 16 yard gain for a first down.
| RB Cecil Sapp, Rush: 1 - 3 - 0, Rec: 1 - 1 - 1 (1 targets) |
Sapp's one touch was a good one, going for a one yard first half touchdown pass. He also had one rushing attempt
| WR Brandon Stokley, Rush: 1 - -6 - 0, Rec: 5 - 70 - 1 (6 targets) |
Stokley took advantage of his starting role by catching all but one of his looks, securing a first half touchdown, and generally being Cutler's go to receiver in the first half. He was second on the team in receiving yards and finished tied for second in receptions.
| WR Brandon Marshall, Rec: 6 - 77 - 0 (10 targets) |
Marshall was the de facto number one wide receiver with Javon Walker out with his injured knee, and he responded by leading the team in targets. He suffered from some poor accuracy from Cutler and less than stellar catch attempts early on, but settled in to lead the team in receptions and yardage. Marshall continued to show excellent run after the catch ability, as he rarely went down on first contact and showed good vision and moves in the open field.
| WR Brian Clark, Rec: 2 - 14 - 0 (2 targets) |
Clark caught both of his looks, and both went for seven yards.
| WR Glenn Martinez, Rec: 1 - 11 - 0 (2 targets) |
Martinez was targeted deep in the end zone but was well covered. His other look was an 11 yard gain.
| TE Tony Scheffler, Rec: 5 - 50 - 1 (6 targets) |
Scheffler continued his comeback from a nagging foot injury by having his best game yet of the season. He caught a third quarter touchdown, and seemed to show the chemistry that he started to develop with Jay Cutler at the end of the 2006 season. He appeared to re injure his foot near the end of the game.
| TE Daniel Graham, Rec: 1 - 9 - 0 (1 targets) |
Graham had the last target and catch of the game. It was a play that was reviewed because it was rule incomplete, but in fact he caught the ball and had it knocked out but was already down by contact. It was an important catch, as it set up Jason Elam's 49 yard game winning field goal.
| PK Jason Elam 1 - 1 FG, 4 - 4 XP, 7 points |
Elam made all four of his PATs and most importantly, kicked the 49 yard game winning field goal straight through the uprights. It would have been good from ten yards further out.
| DEN Rush Defense |
Denver's rush defense showed some improvement, especially in the first half. The worst rush defense in the league prevented Willie Parker from breaking the 100 yard barrier, gave up only 119 total yards, and kept the Pittsburgh rushing game out of the end zone.
| DEN Pass Defense |
Denver's pass defense gave up 290 yards on 24 of 35 passing for 8.29 yards per attempt. They allowed four touchdowns, including three in the first half. Three of the scores went to Pittsburgh's tight ends. They also intercepted Roethlisberger twice, sacked him four times (including a fumble that rookie defensive end Tim Crowder returned for a touchdown), and hurried him repeatedly. It was a winning performance, especially given the absence of Champ Bailey.
