This is for the hard-working maintenance crew at Invesco Field at Mile High.
Chop, chop.
It’s not like there’s a whole year before the place has to be cleaned up. Crank up those leaf blowers and clear out those peanut shells. Put a shine on those seats. Surprisingly, happily, the Broncos need their home ready by Sunday.
When the No. 6 seed Pittsburgh Steelers pulled off one of the biggest playoff upsets in years by hanging on Sunday to defeat the No. 1 seed Indianapolis Colts 21-18, it meant the No. 2 seed Broncos would not have to play the AFC championship game in their personal purgatory known as the RCA Dome.
It meant the Broncos get to play a second playoff game at home.
To date, the Broncos are unbeatable at home this season. They were 8-0 in the regular season, then defeated the two-time defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots 27-13 on Saturday night in an AFC divisional playoff game.
The Broncos had to be honest. They were happy the Steelers beat the Colts.
They do not wish to hang clippings on the Steelers’ bulletin boards by insinuating the Broncos’ chances of reaching Super Bowl XL in Detroit were enhanced by getting to play Pittsburgh instead of the Colts. But they could not contain their glee regarding a second postseason game at Invesco Field when it appeared likely they would return to Indianapolis, where the Broncos had been trounced in the playoffs the previous two years by a combined 56 points.
To review: It was either the RCA Dome, where the indelible numbers were 49-24 and 41-10, or Invesco Field, where the Broncos are 9-0 this season.
If the Steelers are bothered by the Broncos’ preference, so be it.
“We weren’t rooting for the Steelers because of the matchup,” Broncos rookie cornerback Domonique Foxworth said. “We were rooting for the Steelers because we’re undefeated at Invesco.”
Broncos tight end Stephen Alexander was having lunch at a Mexican restaurant with a college buddy when he heard the waiters and staff yelling, “It’s coming to Denver, it’s coming to Denver.”
Alexander couldn’t help but walk over to the TV to check out the excitement for himself.
“I just started watching the game when they hand the ball off to Jerome Bettis at the goal line,” Alexander said. “I’m like, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me.”‘
Bettis fumbled, the Colts returned the ball close to midfield and would have forced overtime after an improbable comeback from a 21-3 deficit had kicker Mike Vanderjagt not missed on a 46-yard field goal.
“We’re going to play a good football team that’s very similar to us in that they’re good against the run and they try to run the ball offensively,” Alexander said. “It’s going to be a battle. I’m just glad we’re playing them at our place. You heard the crowd against New England. It was unbelievable. You saw see the frustration Tom Brady had. He had a hard time changing plays at the line of scrimmage and getting the ball snapped.
“I think our crowd played a big part in the five turnovers New England had.”
But when the Broncos gather at Dove Valley for their noon meetings today, coach Mike Shanahan most likely will make everyone aware that if anyone can handle the challenges of the road, it’s the Steelers. The fans were pumped in Cincinnati two weeks ago, yet the Steelers trounced the No. 3 seed Bengals 31-17. The Broncos understand firsthand how difficult the environment is at the RCA Dome, yet the Steelers dominated the Colts for three quarters.
“We’re in a state of mind where we know that to get to the Super Bowl, we’d be on the road, period,” Joey Porter, the Steelers and former Colorado State linebacker, said after his team’s win Sunday. “Every week, it’s a hostile environment. So now we’re going to Denver. We’re happy to be in the situation where we’re still playing every week.”
For the Broncos, everything changes. Before Sunday, they were considered a team that had exceeded all expectations but was likely to go no further than Indy. But now that Indy has been removed from the playoff road map, nothing less than a third Super Bowl title in nine years is expected. The Broncos opened as 3 1/2-point favorites against the Steelers.
“We’re not a team that puts much into what other people say,” Alexander said. “Look at what happened last week. Nobody gave us much chance to beat New England. Everybody said Indianapolis was a shoo-in for the Super Bowl. We’re just going to take care of business.
“Pittsburgh’s going to be a tough task. You don’t go into Indy and win without being a good football team.”
Staff writer Anthony Cotton contributed to this report.
Staff writer Mike Klis can be reached at 303-820-5440 or mklis@denverpost.com.
Broncos vs. Steelers
Three key elements to the AFC championship game, which will kick off at 1 p.m. Sunday at Invesco Field at Mile High.
1. Mike Shanahan vs. Bill Cowher
It’s amazing how much these teams resemble each other. The Steelers ranked first in the NFL by running on 57.2 percent of their plays; the Broncos were second at 52.6. percent. Both are bold on defense – the Steelers blitzed on an NFL-high 287 pass attempts; the Broncos were second with blitzes on 246 pass attempts. Cowher, below, has the longest coaching tenure with one team at 14 years. Shanahan is third with 11 years. The difference: Shanahan is 2-0 in AFC championship games, including a 24-21 win at Pittsburgh in the 1997 season. Cowher is 1-4.
2. Champ Bailey vs. Troy Polamalu
With the Bears’ Brian Urlacher and Colts’ Dwight Freeney out of the picture, Bailey and Polamalu, right, are the best defensive players in the NFL’s final four. Bailey is an explosive cornerback who helped win three games this year with interception returns, including the playoff game Saturday against New England. Polamalu plays with reckless abandon and gets away with it because of his speed.
3. Jake Plummer vs. Ben Roethlisberger
No, the AFC title showdown will not pit Peyton Manning against Tom Brady. Instead, the football world will get quarterbacks who use play-action off run-first offenses. In their divisional playoff victories this past weekend, Plummer and Roethlisberger each passed for 197 yards. During the season, Plummer had 18 touchdown passes and seven interceptions; Roethlisberger had 17 and nine. Each has a primary target. Counting the playoffs, Plummer has completed 91 passes to Rod Smith, nearly double that of next-best Ashley Lelie (47 catches). Pittsburgh’s Hines Ward has 74 catches, while tight end Heath Miller is a distant second with 44 receptions.
Rushing to Detroit
The AFC team that advances to Super Bowl XL may well be the team that gets the most out of its running back committee. The Broncos feature power back Mike Anderson and work in Tatum Bell from series to series. The Steelers use speedy Willie Parker as their featured back, with Jerome Bettis almost exclusively a short-yardage back. A look at the rushing stats, including the playoffs, of the four backs this season:
| Running back | Att. | Yds | Avg. | TD |
| Mike Anderson, Den | 258 | 1,083 | 4.2 | 14 |
| Tatum Bell, Den | 179 | 940 | 5.3 | 8 |
| Totals | 437 | 2,023 | 4.6 | 22 |
| Willie Parker, Pit | 288 | 1,299 | 4.5 | 4 |
| Jerome Bettis, Pit | 137 | 466 | 3.4 | 11 |
| Totals | 425 | 1,765 | 4.2 | 15 |
