Steelers at Broncos: Peyton Manning’s play will decide game

The Steelers will be facing an uphill battle if Manning can recapture his old form in the divisional round of the NFL playoffs.

Peyton Manning returned to the helm for Denver in week seventeen and steadied the sail of the Broncos offense.

“Under the circumstances, I’m glad you’re not playing today. … I’ve seen enough of you over the years.”

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This was Steelers coach Mike Tomlin’s exchange with Broncos quarterback

Peyton Manning

prior to the week fifteen

contest between Denver and Pittsburgh

. The Steelers ended up winning following a second half Renaissance, as then-starter

Brock Osweiler

lost all control of the game.

At that point, Manning was still recovering from a foot injury. This Sunday, he’s slated to be the Broncos’ starter once again.

Manning didn’t exactly wow in his return a couple weeks ago. He took over in the third quarter and managed to complete 5/9 passes for 69 yards. No touchdowns, but no interceptions either.

What did drastically improve for Denver, though, was the running game. Ronnie Hillman and C.J. Anderson (15 carries each) ran for 117 and 95 yards, respectively. Both scored as well.

Denver’s ground attack was re-ignited by Manning’s presence. His line-of-scrimmage prowess exploited soft spots in the Chargers defense, and the proper audibles were made. It’s no surprise that Osweiler’s inexperience often resulted in offensive standstills for the Broncos. (Sound familiar?)

In week fifteen, Ben Roethlisberger and Antonio Brown went on a second-half rampage. AB hauled in two touchdowns and finished with 189 yards. Roethlisberger targeted Brown 18 times, connecting on 16 of them. As usual, they were the bulk of the Steelers’ offensive production.

This Sunday, the statuses of Roethlisberger and Brown are not set in stone. Early signs pointed up for both men to suit up in Denver, but new rumors from ESPN claim otherwise for Brown.

I’m not going to question Bob Holtzman’s credentials, but every source prior to his claimed AB was looking good for Sunday. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette‘s Gerry Dulac said late Saturday night that Brown “should be good to go” this week. Given AB’s confident social media posts following the Wild Card, it would appear he plans on playing.

Either way, the Steelers offense is going to be running below full speed. Big Ben’s shoulder remains ‘sore’; on the final drive in Cincinnati, he was unable to throw any deep passes due to discomfort. We know by now that Roethlisberger possesses superhuman healing powers, but an injury to the throwing shoulder of one of the league’s most active quarterbacks is bound to catch up.

DeAngelo Williams‘ status remains unclear. Last time around against the Broncos, Williams only mustered 26 rushing yards and a goal-line score. Denver’s defense is stellar against the run. That isn’t likely to change against any Pittsburgh running back, be it Williams, Fitzgerald Toussaint or Jordan Todman.

This is why Manning’s performance is so crucial to the outcome of Sunday’s game. The Broncos offense is more than capable of blowing the Steelers defense out of the water. Emmanuel Sanders set the field ablaze with 181 yards and a TD in the teams’ previous meeting.

Demaryius Thomas added a pair of scores. In the first half, the Broncos seamlessly converted every third down. We’ve already discussed how Manning impacts his running backs. 

The Steelers are too talented offensively to go flat. Still, the Broncos defense is at home and fresh off a week’s rest this time. Points will be harder to come by.

Pittsburgh’s defense has largely stepped up in recent weeks, but the weapons are there for Denver. Manning has plenty of experience against the Steelers’ system and he’ll be able to manipulate it often. The question now is… can he make the throws?

Manning’s passing mechanics are understandably slower now. He throws a lot of floaters, balls that drop in a precise spot for his receivers. The Steelers will need to rely on their defensive speed  – and there’s plenty of it – to undercut routes and shadow receivers to the ball.

Manning holds the tactical advantage against the Steelers defense. It will be up to Keith Butler‘s unit to pressure Peyton into fast throws and stay in their zones to avoid easy passes. If Manning gets flustered, then turnovers are sure to follow.

Next: Can Landry Jones get it done?

If the defense fails, the Steelers will likely be left playing catch-up all night. At some point, the miracles are going to run out.

Stats used via Pro Football Reference.