Broncos at Steelers, 2:25 p.m., Sunday, KCNC-4
For the record: The Steelers, who are coming off a 33-20 road win against the Bengals, are 8-5 and in the middle of the playoff race.
Who’s hot: Ben Roethlisberger leads all quarterbacks with 332 passing yards per game. He’s thrown for more than 280 yards in each of his last five games.
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Who’s not: The Steelers’ pass defense. Pittsburgh has given up the second most yards in the air in the NFL. Their cornerbacks and safeties have been prone to give up big plays all season.
Key stat: Steelers receiver Antonio Brown is second in the NFL with 1,397 receiving yards on 100 receptions. The other top Steelers receivers? Well, they are great deep threats. Martavis Bryant and Markus Wheaton are in the top five of yards per reception for pass catchers with at least 30 receptions. Big challenge ahead for the Broncos’ secondary.
FYI: Sunday will mark Emmanuel Sanders first trip back to Pittsburgh to play against the team that drafted him.
Injury report: The Steelers had two starters come out of Sunday’s game with injuries. Safety Mike Mitchell left with a shoulder injury. Linebacker Ryan Shazier had a tailbone injury.
Coachspeak: “We’re going to defend ourselves aggressively,” Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said about pregame scuffles with the Bengals Sunday. “Those confrontations occurred on our side of the ball after plays, outside of the ball, or outside of the 50 in pregame. Hey, that’s our side of the 50.”
