What went well against the Broncos

3:44 p.m. – What went wrong: Against Cincinnati, James Pierre allowed JaMarr Chase to get behind him for a critical second-half touchdown, and with 5:46 left in the fourth quarter against Denver, Courtland Sutton did the same, this time for 39 yards to cut the Steelers lead to 24-19. Denver’s attempt for the two-point conversion failed.

3:30 p.m. – What went wrong: The Broncos overcame a hold penalty, one sack, and converted three different fourth downs to go 75 yards on 14 plays to reduce the Steelers’ lead to 24-13 with 10:15 left in the fourth quarter. On a fourth and five, Teddy Bridgewater completed a 5-yard pass to Tim Patrick. Then on a fourth and 2 off the 28-yard line for the Steelers, he found Courtland Sutton for a 25-yard gain at the 3-yard line. A hold call on Lloyd Cushenberry cost the Broncos 10 yards, but Bridgewater rushed for 11 yards, then an incomplete pass set up a fourth and a goal from the 2-yard line. The Broncos slid wide receiver Kendall Hinton across the field and Bridgewater hit him for the touchdown.

THIRD QUARTER: Steelers 24, Broncos 6

3:11 p.m. – What went well: On a possession that started at their 14-yard line, the Steelers scored 10 points, but only seven scored on the scoreboard. In the second game, Najee Harris ran for 18 yards to put him above the 100-yard plateau for the first game of his professional career. Kevin Dotson was flagged for keeping a second and 7, but then a 14-yard pass to Harris and a 14-yard pass to Claypool gave the Steelers a first down at the 30-yard line. Harris won 8, and after an abandoned pass, Roethlisberger again converted with a 3-yard pass to Pat Freiermuth. The Steelers failed to convert a third and 11 from Denver’s 32-yard line, and Chris Boswell came in to convert a 51-yard field goal. But the Broncos were penalized 15 yards for leverage on the kick, so the Steelers took the ball off the Denver 18-yard line. Three games later, Roethlisberger threw a dart at Claypool in the middle of the end zone for the touchdown that took Pittsburgh’s lead to 24-6 with 2:41 left in the third quarter.

2:51 p.m. – What went well: The Broncos kicked off the second half, and their possession started at their 15-yard line. After three first downs, Denver faced a third and 7 on the Steelers’ 47-yard line. Cam Heyward beat a pass from Teddy Bridgewater and the Broncos kicked. The Steelers started their first halftime possession at their 14-yard line.

HALF TIME: Steelers 17, Broncos 6

2:16 p.m. – What went well: Najee Harris jumped into the end zone for the second rushed touchdown of his career, and it gave the Steelers a 17-6 lead they ended up taking in the locker room at halftime. A 59-yard catch-and-run by Chase Claypool on second and 7 of the Pittsburgh 28-yard line gave the Steelers a first down on the Broncos’ 13-yard line. On second and 15th of the 18-yard line, Diontae Johnson drew a penalty for passing interference that placed the ball on the 1-yard line. Two Harris points got the ball into the end zone and limited the 75-yard run to six games.

2:04 p.m. – What went well: On a third and 1 off Denver’s 49-yard line, Javonte Williams dodged Minkah Fitzpatrick around the scrimmage line and ran 49 yards to the Steelers 2-yard line where he was knocked down from behind by James Pierre. Williams was penalized 5 yards for being late after hitting the ball in the field of play. After a no-win run, Devin Bush sacked Teddy Bridgewater for a 12-yard loss, then a 6-yard pass to Williams. brought Brian McManus onto the field for a 29-yard field goal. His kick made him Steelers 10, Broncos 6 with 5:47 left in the second quarter.

13:43 – What went well: A 48-yard field goal from Chris Boswell recovered all three points the Broncos scored in the previous possession, and the Steelers led, 10-3, with 12:42 left in the first half. Najee Harris carried four times for 35 yards on the nine-play route, the big payoff being a 20-yard run behind an unbalanced line.

FIRST QUARTER: Steelers 7, Broncos 3

13:29 – What went wrong: The Broncos went three and out on their initial possession, and the Steelers offense was back in business at their 17-yard line. Ben Roethlisberger converted a third and 2 with a 4-yard pass to Pat Freiermuth, and a third and 3 with a 5-yard pass to Eric Ebron. After a false start from Chuks Okorafor and a 2-yard run by Kalan Ballage, Roethlisberger suffered a strip-sack from Malik Reed, and the fumble was recovered by Alexander Johnson at the Pittsburgh 29-yard line. Thanks in part to a tackle for a 4-yard loss by TJ Watt, the Broncos had to settle for a 39-yard field goal to reduce the Steelers’ lead to 7-3 with 1:43 remaining in the first quarter.

1:07 p.m. – What went well: It looked a lot like opening possession in Green Bay, and that’s a good thing. After a hold penalty on Benny Snell set aside 10 yards of Ray-Ray McCloud’s return from the opening kickoff, the Steelers started at their 15-yard line. Two runs from Najee Harris set up a third and one, and Ben Roethlisberger converted with a 23-yard pass to Chase Claypool. Two games later it was third and 7 from midfielder, and Roethlisberger descended onto the pitch to the right, where Diontae Johnson beat cornerback Kyler Fuller, made the catch and finished the game for the touched. After six games and 85 yards, the Steelers were leading 7-0, with 12:02 left in the first quarter.

DRAW: Broncos win toss and choose to postpone. The Steelers get football first.