NFL

The Broncos Losing Streak Is Over

Posted Oct 22, 2007 12:08AM By Josh Alper (RSS feed)

Filed Under: Broncos, Steelers, Denver, Pittsburgh

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So much for Keith Olbermann's prognostication skills. Hours after the NBC pundit shared his belief that the Steelers could run the table and finish 15-1, Jason Elam's 48-yard field goal made a fool of him. The Broncos kicker won a game on the final play for the third time this season and tonight's 31-28 win was the third of Denver's season. You can do the math there but Elam's a big reason why this Denver team is still able to think about the playoffs.

It looked like they weren't going to need his heroics for much of the evening's proceedings. Denver opened up a 21-7 halftime lead thanks to the generosity of Ben Roethlisberger. He was picked off twice and fumbled on a sack by Elvis Dumervil, one of two by the talented pass rusher, late in the second quarter. Tim Crowder scooped up the ball and scampered 50 yards to create the two touchdown margin as the teams returned to the locker rooms.

Playing without Champ Bailey, the Broncos had those three turnovers and sacked Roethlisberger four times overall. They also held Willie Parker to 93 yards, or about half as many as they'd given up on average in the first five games of the year. Dumervil and Jarvis Moss really looked good, using their speed to make things difficult for the larger Steeler lineman the whole first half and helping force Roethlisberger's mistakes.

They kept the 14-point lead through three thanks to an eight-minute plus drive that closed with a Jay Cutler touchdown pass to Tony Scheffler. It was the third of the night for Cutler who shook off two interceptions of his own to lead the Bronco offense to their highest output of the season. He was also excellent on the last drive, four completions in 70 seconds to take the Broncos from their own 20 to the Steeler 30. That's no surprise, Cutler's already made quite a name for himself when time is short.

Roethlisberger threw his third and fourth touchdown passes on successive fourth quarter drives - one each to tight ends Matt Spaeth and Heath Miller - and tied the score with 1:10 to play. He finished with 290 yards and spread the ball around in the second half to bring Pittsburgh back into the game. Ultimately, though, his first half turnovers dug too deep a hole for the Steelers.

The Broncos hung onto the win despite a late return to form defensively because their offense came through in the clutch. Cutler's final numbers, 22-of-29 for 248 yards and three touchdowns, are less impressive than the leadership he showed against a tough defense in a game his team had to have.

Tags: Ben+Roethlisberger, BenRoethlisberger, Elvis+Dumervil, ElvisDumervil, Jason+Elam, JasonElam, Jay+Cutler, JayCutler, NFL+Week+7+Recaps, NflWeek7Recaps

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