Pittsburgh quarterback Roethlisberger receives 300 pound surprise while Broncos beat Steelers, 24-17

Denver • For a man who tipped the scales at nearly 300 pounds, the Shelby Harris nasal harness is undoubtedly neglected.

Ben Roethlisberger did not see him on Sunday when Harris intercepted his pass to Antonio Brown of Denver 2 with 1:03 left, sealing the Broncos '24-17 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers' six-game winning streak.

"Of all the interceptions I've started, it's one of the biggest I've been involved with," Roethlisberger said. "I had never thought that a defensive lineman would get stuck so far in an interception."

The Broncos (5-6), who ended the Chargers' six-game winning streak last week, were not surprised by Harris's great success.

After being cut seven times by the Raiders, Jets and Cowboys, Harris has finally made himself known in the last 18 months to Denver.

"I love Shelby. He worked hard, "said teammate Chris Harris Jr." He's a guy from nowhere and people kept cutting and cutting him and he kept fighting, guy. I love Shelby and the efforts he has made. He always plays games for us. "

"I have to prove to everyone that I have the best hands on the team," Harris said of his first career interception, which took place 48 hours after he missed Friday's training for the birth. of his daughter.

Maybe Roethlisberger did not see it, said Shelby Harris, "but the balloon saw me."

"All I saw," said Brown, "is an interception.

Harris kept the football and said that he would take her to the hospital to see his wife and newborn.

The Broncos used four takeaways to counter a 97-yard touchdown between Roethlisberger and JuJu Smith-Schuster and gave the Steelers (7-3-1) their first loss since September.

"It will be a quiet plane to get home," said Smith-Schuster, whose 13 catches for 189 yards were not enough to stop Pittsburgh from losing for the second time in his last 18 regular season games.

Cornerback Bradley Roby and safety Darian Stewart were burned in Smith-Schuster's long strike, but they caught up with him when they teamed up for the final third quarter match for Denver's third goal.

"I knew I had to do something," said Roby, who forced James Connor to turn the ball over after a 23-yard gain. Stewart recovered it at Denver 21.

The Broncos then collected 79 yards in 11 games with Phillip Lindsay, who had 110 yards in 14 runs, allowing him to break the tie at 17-17.

Roethlisberger was 41 of 56 for 462 yards, extending his NFL record with his sixth game of 450 passing yards.

His only TD arrived in a highly improbable situation, the Steelers having been saved at their 3rd. Backpedaling, Roethlisberger opened his pass just as Shelby Harris hit him on the back in the end zone.

"They have pressure very quickly," said Roethlisberger. "I saw JuJu go inside and I let him go."

Smith-Schuster, who overtook Roby, won in Pittsburgh 35, cut to the sidelines of the Broncos and Stewart, the armed arm, about to break the 10-10 tie.

His 97-yard TD was the longest pass in franchise history and was a laid-back TD longest ever by the Broncos, a 98-yard run by Ahman Green of Green Bay in 2003.

"It's a great quarterback that makes an excellent game for an excellent receiver," said Broncos defenseman Derek Wolfe. "You just have to bounce back and find a way to overtake it, and we did it."

Roethlisberger had 25 finals at half-time, the highest number in the first half of the regular season with a Steelers QB since 1960, but it took false ground for Pittsburgh to reach the end zone.

Kicker Chris Boswell threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to left striker Alejandro Villanueva to tie the game at 10.

Boswell took the picture live and threw a perfect pass to Villanueva, an open player, who was receiver and close end to Army. He became the first Steelers lineman to have a touchdown pass since Ray Pinney against the Browns in 1983.

"It was cool to see all the guys being excited like that for me, especially because I think I dropped it at training last week," Villanueva said.

The Steelers lost 10 more points in the first period.

Justin Simmons blocked Boswell's goalkeeper goal for 48 yards and safety Will Parks hit the ball just as tight end Xavier Grimble was about to score a decisive 24-yard goal. The ball went out of bounds for a touchdown.

Steelers: T.J. Watt (wrist) and TE Vance McDonald (hip) left the match, but both returned.

Broncos: CB Tramaine Brock (ribs), TE Jeff Heuerman (torso) and OLB Shaq Barrett (hip) did not return to the game after being injured.

Steelers: Go home to welcome the Chargers in another match not to be missed.

Broncos: Travel to Cincinnati to face the worst defense in the league.