Denver Broncos vs Pittsburgh Steelers Match Player Stats On Dec 20, 2015

The Sports Xchange
Dec 20, 2015

PITTSBURGH -- Ben Roethlisberger threw for 380 yards and three touchdowns --- including a game-winning 23-yard strike to Antonio Brown with 3:24 remaining --- as the Pittsburgh Steelers rallied from a 17-point deficit to beat the Denver Broncos 34-27 on Sunday at Heinz Field.

Roethlisberger's second touchdown pass to Brown, who had 16 receptions for 189 yards, broke a 27-27 tie and gave the Steelers (9-5) their fifth win in six games.

With its 10th consecutive December win, dating to 2013, Pittsburgh kept pace with the Kansas City Chiefs and New York Jets at the top of the AFC wild-card standings with two games left.

Roethlisberger completed 40 of 55 against the NFL's No. 1 defense in points (17.3 per game) and total yards (272.3) allowed. The Broncos had two interceptions, including a pick by linebacker Brandon Marshall with 2:08 left at the Steelers' 41.

The Broncos were unable to take advantage of the turnover as quarterback Brock Osweiler threw four straight incomplete passes, giving the ball back to the Steelers on downs with 1:40 remaining.

Pittsburgh ran out the clock.

Roethlisberger has averaged 365.8 yards passing over the last six games with 13 touchdowns. Brown has 64 catches for 868 yards in that same span.

Steelers wide receiver Martavis Bryant added 10 receptions for 87 yards.

Osweiler, subbing for injured Peyton Manning for the fifth straight game, threw three touchdowns passes and ran for another as the Broncos built a 27-10 lead in the second quarter.

However, Denver (10-4) failed to score in the second half and lost a second straight game to see its lead in the AFC West over the Chiefs trimmed to one game.

Osweiler was 21 of 44 passing for 296 yards and was intercepted once. In the second half, though, he was 7 of 26 for 82 yards in the second half. He injured his left --- non-throwing --- shoulder late in the second quarter and was briefly replaced by rookie quarterback Trevor Siemian before returning to the game.

Former Steelers receiver Emmanuel Sanders had 10 receptions for 181 yards and a touchdown for the Broncos, but nine of the catches came in the first half for 139 yards. Wide receiver Demaryius Thomas had two touchdown catches.

Down 27-10 with just under two minutes left in the second quarter, the Steelers started their comeback on kicker Josh Boswell's 41-yard field goal with four seconds to go.

The Steelers tied it on a pair of 9-yard touchdown passes from Roethlisberger in the second half. He connected with Brown with 7:16 left in the third quarter and with wide receiver Markus Wheaton with 12:34 remaining in the fourth period.

Osweiler tied the score with an 18-yard touchdown pass to Thomas with 4:45 left in the first quarter, capping a 12-play, 85-yard drive.

A little less than a 90 seconds later, Sanders got behind the defense, which was blitzing Osweiler, and hauled in a 61-yard scoring pass to put the Broncos ahead 14-7.

Osweiler then ran 7 yards for a touchdown on third-and-goal to give the Broncos a two-touchdown lead with 11:30 remaining in the second quarter. Kicker Brandon McManus missed the extra-point attempt at the end of the 10-play drive came after an interception by strong safety Josh Bush.

After a 24-yard field goal by Boswell, Osweiler and Thomas connected on a 6-yard score with 1:50 to go in the second quarter to put the Broncos up 27-10.

Steelers running back DeAngelo Williams had a 2-yard touchdown run 4:44 into the game to open the scoring, two plays after Broncos running back Ronnie Hillman lost a fumble. Strong safety Will Allen stripped Hillman of the ball and free safety Mike Mitchell recovered.

NOTES: Broncos FS Darian Stewart (hamstring) sat out after being listed as questionable Friday with a hamstring injury and replaced in the starting lineup by S Josh Bush. SS T.J. Ward (ankle) and backup FS Omar Bolden (hamstring) also were inactive after being ruled out of the game Friday. … Broncos WR Emmanuel Sanders has 11 100-yard receiving games in 29 games since signing as a free agent prior to last season after having none in four seasons and 56 games with the Steelers. … Attendance of 67,234 was a record at Heinz Field, which opened in 2001.