Steelers-Broncos Capsule
PITTSBURGH (11-6) at DENVER (12-4)
Sunday, 4:40 p.m. ET, CBS
OPENING LINE - Broncos by 3 1/2
RECORD VS. SPREAD - Pittsburgh 8-6-3, Denver 8-7-1
SERIES RECORD - Broncos lead 18-11-1
LAST MEETING - Steelers beat Broncos 34-27, Dec. 20, 2015
LAST WEEK - Steelers beat Bengals 18-16; Broncos had first-round bye
AP PRO32 RANKING - Steelers No. 9, Broncos No. 2
STEELERS OFFENSE - OVERALL (3), RUSH (16) PASS (3).
STEELERS DEFENSE - OVERALL (21), RUSH (5), PASS (30).
BRONCOS OFFENSE - OVERALL (16), RUSH (17), PASS (14).
BRONCOS DEFENSE - OVERALL (1), RUSH (3), PASS (1).
STREAKS, STATS AND NOTES - Steelers tied Dallas Cowboys last week for most playoff wins (34) all-time. ... Steelers only team to top 30 points and 300 yards passing on Denver's top-ranked defense this season. QB Ben Roethlisberger threw for 380 yards and three TDs last month and WR Antonio Brown had 16 catches for 189 yards and two TDs. Both Roethlisberger (shoulder) and Brown (concussion) were injured in wild-card win over Cincinnati on hits by Bengals LB Vontaze Burfict. ... Game marks eighth playoff meeting between Steelers and Broncos. Last time was Jan. 8, 2012, when Demaryius Thomas caught 80-yard TD pass from Tim Tebow on first play of overtime for 29-23 Denver win. ... Steelers set NFL record with eight 2-point conversions in regular season (8 for 11) but failed in only attempt in wild-card round. ... Roethlisberger led NFL with 328.2 passing yards per game, third-highest single-season average in NFL history. ... Roethlisberger has 11-5 career playoff record. Peyton Manning is 11-13 in playoffs. ... Steelers backup QB Landry Jones passed for 209 yards and one TD in only career start, 23-13 loss at Kansas City on Oct. 25. ... Steelers advanced to postseason despite losing Roethlisberger for one month, running backs Le'Veon Bell and DeAngelo Williams, and center Maurkice Pouncey due to injury. ... WR Martavis Bryant has 17 TDs in 23 career games, including playoffs. ... Denver has 15-5 home playoff record. ... Manning (foot) set for first start since Nov. 15. ... Gary Kubiak is just ninth coach to earn No. 1 conference seed in first year with team. Twelve wins tied Red Miller (1977) for most by first-year coach in franchise history. ... Manning ranks second in playoff history in passing yards (6,800), completions (598) and attempts (935), trailing only Tom Brady (683 of 1,085 for 7,345 yards). ... Manning tied Brett Favre for most regular-season wins (186) and broke Favre's record (71,838) for most passing yards (71,940) during regular season. ... RB Ronnie Hillman led team with career-best 863 yards and seven TDs. C.J. Anderson added 720 yards and five TDs. ... Thomas (105 catches for 1,304 yards and six TDs) ranks second in NFL since 2012 with 5,787 receiving yards. He's averaged 99.9 yards in seven career playoff games, with six TDs. ... WR Emmanuel Sanders has 19 catches for 347 yards and two TDs in last three games. He previously played for Pittsburgh. ... LBs Danny Trevathan (110 tackles) and Brandon Marshall (101) led league's best defense in stops. ... Denver led NFL in total defense (283.1 yards per game) and pass defense (199.6).
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