Bucking the Broncos: Steelers Week 2 Preview

Last week the Pittsburgh Steelers opened the season with a revenge game specifically for offensive coordinator Arthur Smith as his new team was facing the team he was head coach of in 2023, the Atlanta Falcons. Smith did an excellent job calling the offensive plays and despite not seeing any touchdowns, Pittsburgh won 18-10. 

Now as the Steelers prepare for a second straight road game, this Sunday’s matchup with the Denver Broncos was supposed to be a revenge game for quarterback Russell Wilson as he would have faced the team that no longer wanted him following the conclusion of the 2023 season. As of this writing, Wilson is still nursing an injured calf and when he can return remains in question.

That is good news for Justin Fields who did an outstanding job last weekend in Atlanta. The longer Wilson sits on the sidelines the more of an advantage it is for Fields in my opinion. This is especially true if Fields improves on his play game after game. The pressure is on head coach Mike Tomlin to get Wilson in there when healthy because he said repeatedly, he was QB1 from the time he was signed. But Justin Fields is absolutely more athletic than Wilson, he is a bigger threat because of his legs, however he may be lacking in big game experience and savvy. 

Still, it looks like Fields will be under center come Sunday. After watching the Steelers defense dismantle the Falcons defense in week one, if they continue to play like that or better, there will not be a need for an explosive offense. Smith’s philosophy when hired was to use ground and pound and make the most of his tight ends. That was on display in Atlanta, and it worked well. The Steelers wore down the Falcons’ defense and ate up much of the clock time.

Now come the Broncos and this upcoming game is their home opener. They began the season with a narrow loss to the Seattle Seahawks by a count of 26-20. That game was the NFL debut for Denver’s rookie quarterback Bo Nix who had a terrible outing with a QB rating of just 47.5 and was also sacked twice. In addition, he threw two interceptions and threw the ball 42 times completing only 26. His yards per completion was an awful 3.3 and he did not hit on a touchdown pass. He did run the ball five times, one of which was for 23 yards and the other rushes amounted to only 12 yards.

Mike Tomlin has enjoyed feasting on rookie quarterbacks in the past and given the talent of his current defense, this could be an exceptionally long day for the kid. The Steelers have a golden opportunity here to take their record to 2-0 and return home to host the Los Angeles Chargers for their home opener and welcome new head coach Jim Harbaugh to the ‘Burgh.

Offense vs. Offense

Could this be the day when Justin Fields throws for his first Steelers touchdown? Or will we see the season’s first offensive six points from the feet of Fields, Najee Harris, or someone else? Tomlin and Smith want to see some points on the board other than those from the kicks of Chris Boswell. The offense was very efficient in Atlanta and did have red zone opportunities, they just could not punch it in. Harris got his season off to a solid start with 70 yards rushing last weekend and I don’t believe their game plan will change any. 

I do see an explosive play from George Pickens taking place in this game and if not for a questionable pass interference call on Pickens in Atlanta, he may have had a second big gainer in game one. Look for more passes to Pat Freiermuth facing Denver as he only received four targeted passes from Justin Fields in Atlanta. Facing Seattle, the Broncos did rush for 99 yards, but it was by committee (Nix, Jaleel McLaughlin-10/27, Javonte Williams-8/23, and Audric Estime-2/14). Pittsburgh’s defense only allowed 89 yards rushing to the Falcons and Atlanta’s running game is better so this should be a good day for the Black and Gold in that department. 

The Seahawks ran roughshod over Denver’s defense in week one finishing with 146 yards on the ground, so Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren might be in for a very good afternoon. If it comes down to field goals again for Pittsburgh, then it’s money in the bank with Chris Boswell kicking. Bos showed in the season opener how strong his leg is. I don’t believe there is a distance on the field he can’t hit from.

Defense vs. Defense

While Denver’s defense held Geno Smith and Seattle’s passing game in check on opening day (Smith had 171 yards passing, threw one interception and was sacked twice), on the ground the ‘Hawks cut Kenneth Walker loose who ran for 103 yards and a 5.2 yards per carry average. Smith scored the game’s first touchdown of the game with a 34 yard romp and that from the quarterback position. Walker then scored later on a 23-yard jaunt. The final score came on a 30 pass from Smith to Zach Charbonnet. So big plays were about on this Bronco’s defense. On the other sideline this Sunday in Mile High will be this Pittsburgh defense who was outstanding in 2023 and after one game appears to be an even better unit. 

Pittsburgh’s D held Atlanta to just two third down conversions on nine attempts. They allowed just one touchdown in the first half then slammed the door shut on Kirk Cousins and his offense. There is no question who has the better defense in this game and the Steelers defenders should keep the Broncos out of the end zone and most likely won’t surrender more than one TD.

Unfortunately, Pittsburgh punter Cameron Johnston was injuring in Atlanta on a play that should have been running into the kicker and instead turned into a holding penalty on the Steelers. But Johnston’s season is over as he was placed on IR and in his place comes Corliss Waltman who once was on the Pittsburgh roster. Another big sized punter will take the field for the Steelers on Sunday (6-foot 2 inch and 210 pounds). Waltman did not play last season but ironically, he was a Denver Bronco in 2022 where he punted 96 times for a 41.5 net average. That’s sufficient for the Steelers.

Intangibles

I had predicted in the preseason that Pittsburgh would win the first two games. In fact, I’ll be picking them again next week in their home opener to defeat the Chargers. A 3-0 start would be awesome but for this week, expect them to go 2-0. I think this defense is going to confuse and frustrate the rookie Bo Nix and Justin Fields is now a bit more comfortable and he’s facing a weaker defense than he saw a week before. T.J. Watt was frustrated last week with penalty calls, and I think he comes out in Denver pumped up to create even further havoc. The new faces on the Steelers are working out greatly thus far and they can only get better. Steelers 30 Broncos13.