Broncos vs. Steelers: Key Defensive Matchup to Watch
The road for the Denver Broncos gets tough as they head to the Steel City to take on the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Steelers have had a constant defense that will challenge the Broncos offense, but Pittsburgh's offense can be deadly.
Making it even more dangerous is having Ben Roethlisberger healthy and starting with a great, though recently depleted, offensive line along with talented weapons.
There is no doubt the Broncos' defense has their work cut out for them trying to figure out how to stop an offense with as many weapons as the Steelers do, and Denver has to do it without Von Miller and A.J. Bouye, both of whom are on injured reserve. It all starts with Big Ben, but that is far from where it ends.
The Steelers have one of the better offensive lines, a deep and talented group of receivers, a powerful running back with a solid burst in Benny Snell, and tight ends that can attack coverages and create mismatches. Denver's defense is outclassed in this one but only time will tell if it's also outmatched.
With that being said, there's one key matchup for Denver here. If the Broncos can win this matchup, it would help their chances to walk away with a win dramatically. The matchup? Shutting down star receiver Juju Smith-Schuster, which is hard enough — but there's a caveat. The Broncos can't plug one leak only to have a couple more spring up.
In the video above, I break down why stopping Smith-Schuster is so key and why the caveat comes along with it. Bottom line, he Broncos must have their other cornerbacks step up.
How do you see this matchup unfolding on gameday? Sound off in the comment section below.
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