Mike Tomlin reacts to a call against the Carolina Panthers. (Charles LeClaire-US PRESSWIRE)

Despite a solid preseason performance, there are still Peyton Manning skeptics out there. Can he stay healthy? Does he have the strength? Can he return back to form?

After watching preseason tape on Manning, Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin is not one of those skeptics. He fully expects the Peyton of old on Sunday night.

“Guys like him make their reputations in rising up in moments like this,” Tomlin said. “He has battled some adversity with injury and being in a new city. We should anticipate his very best. That’s what guys like Manning do.”

“He has a ridiculous football character, he’s smart,” Tomlin said. “He works at it. He is a ridiculous competitor.”

“Anything he’s involved in resembles other things he’s involved in because they’re usually successful,” Tomlin said. “He’s very efficient, he reads pass patterns and route distribution combinations very quickly, he challenges the defense with some of the things he does pre-snap. It looks very familiar but I expected it to because Peyton is Peyton.” – Mike Tomlin (WTNH)

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The Broncos offense will have to get creative against the Steelers. (Garrett W. Ellwood/Getty Images)

As far as the playoffs go, no two other AFC teams have met as much as the Denver Broncos and the Pittsburgh Steelers. The teams are dead even in playoff victories 3-3. In fact the last two times that these teams met in the post season, the winner of the battle went on to win the Super Bowl (’97, ’05). The Broncos finished the regular season with an 8-8 record while the Steelers ended with a 12-4 record. The Steelers took second place in their division which is why the Broncos are hosting. Game time is set for 2:30 p.m. MST on CBS.

Offense

Broncos: The Broncos know the mountain ahead of them is of Everest proportions, and it all starts with facing the top-ranked defense in the league. The Broncos clearly need to change some things up in regards in their passing game. Perhaps opening up the game with some short pass plays on first and second down will help. That will also allow Willis McGahee to get going early. Receivers have got to be at the top of their game, running correct and good routes, and catching balls. This has been a problem for them of late. Having Tim Tebow throw some screen passes and slants at the start will get him into a nice rhythm and keep an aggressive defense somewhat at bay. It’s all about putting points up on the board and controlling the clock so the Broncos defense gets a break.

Steelers: Ben Roethlisberger has been hobbling around practice this week on a sprained ankle, but that certainly won’t keep him from scrambling, extending plays, and finding his tremendous receivers down field. The Steelers are 22nd in points, just three spots better than the Broncos, and they won’t have Rashard Mendenall (torn ACL). Issac Redman is his replacement and he’s a better pass blocker and receiver than Mendenhall so expect the Steelers to favor the pass heavily. They have a deadly combination of receivers with Hines Ward being a great blocker and running tremendous underneath routes. Mike Wallace and Antonio Brown, however, are their go-to receivers with each having over 1,000 yards on the season. The Steelers have the 10th best passing offense in the league. The Steelers have had trouble pulling away from mediocre teams on the road this season.
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This season is a marathon, not a sprint. Keeping that in mind, hitting the wall last week in Baltimore may have not been such a bad thing. After all, the Broncos are supposed to have highs and lows to learn from their mistakes. A diamond with a flaw is much better than a pebble without. This week, the Steelers (5-2) visit the Mile High City to partake in a big Monday night game. The Steelers are coming off of their bye week, and are always deadly with Ben Roethlisberger leading the charge. The defending champions had a rough start to their season, but have won four straight games. When playing at home, the Broncos are 7-2-1 against the Steelers in the regular season. Walking away with a 3-1 record against the AFC North would be a great accomplishment.  My Prediction: Broncos 23 Steelers 20.         

Offense

Broncos - Pittsburgh is great at stopping the run, so the offensive line has got to do a great job protecting Kyle Orton. The pass attack is going to be favored with possibly some short dumps to Correll Buckhalter and Knowshon Moreno. The Broncos only managed 66 yards rushing last week, so I’m sure that was a main area of focus this week in practice and in the film room. The Broncos are without tackle Ryan Harris (toe). Getting on the scoreboard in the first half will be important for the Broncos. They have always started the game slow offensively, but last week, they reached a new low by failing to score in the first half of the game. Getting Tony Scheffler and Eddie Royal involved more is key to the Broncos success. Utilizing tight end Daniel Graham as a blocker for Buckhalter and Moreno looks to be a great option as well.    

Steelers- Roethlisberger is pushing for the no-huddle offense because he saw the Ravens have some success last week when the Broncos weren’t able to cover the gaps once the offense got into a hurried state of play. The Steelers are 19th in rushing and 5th in passing. Rashard Mendenhall (59.7 yards per game) and Willie Parker (37.4 yards per game) lead the team in rushing while the very physical Hines Ward leads the team in receiving (86 yards per game, 2 TDs this season). Santonio Holmes is another deadly receiving target with a 71 yard per game average. They’ve got an enormous offensive line that could very well hold Denver’s quick defensive linemen.    

Defense

Broncos - The opportunity for big defensive plays is plentiful against the Steelers. Both Mendenhall and Parker are prone to fumble the ball. Big Ben has thrown 6 INTs on the season, and he’s been sacked 20 times despite having that huge offensive line. Elvis Dumervil needs to get back on track after going sackless last week. Stopping the run will need to be Denver’s bread and butter because when the Steelers have the pass and rush going for them, that’s when they’re unstoppable. Forcing numerous turnovers a game is what has made the Broncos so successful this season. Putting pressure on Big Ben and forcing him into three and outs is the only way the Broncos will win this game.          

Steelers-  The Steelers’ defensive line is a beat up bunch that could have trouble against the Buckhalter-Moreno combo even though they haven’t allowed a 100+ yard rusher in the last 25 games. They even held Adrian Peterson to 89 yards in their win over the Vikings.  Travis Kirschke is out with a torn calf muscle, forcing the Steelers to rotate a couple of rookies into the mix. The Steelers are 1st against the run and 16th against the pass. They have James Farrior leading the team in total tackles (48) and James Harrison leading the team in sacks (8). Ryan Clark and Troy Polamalu are leading the team in INTs with 2 a piece. Ryan Clark may be unable to play, however.  When this defense forces turnovers, it is just as capable of scoring as the Steelers offense is.  

Special Teams  

Broncos - Eddie Royal did a nice job with kick returns last week, and in fact, he’s the only one that’s been handling return duties. Matt Prater had better be ready to make some clutch field goals since this game could come down to a 3 point hit or miss.   

Steelers-  Jeff Reed is a spotty field goal kicker, particularly from long distance. He’s 9-12 on the year and 1-3 when kicking from beyond 40. Stefan Logan handles the bulk of the return game. He has a long of 56 yards on a kick return, but has not returned anything for a TD.

Coaching

Broncos -  Now that Josh McDaniels has absorbed his first loss as head coach, it will be interesting to see how he and his team bounce back from it. You can be sure many hours were spent in the film room this week. He goes up against another great young coach this week.      

Steelers- Mike Tomlin is the man in Pittsburgh. He won the game of all games last year, and he’s a coaching genius who is always prepared. He delegates the play calling to his assistants, so that he can see the game as a whole. You can be sure McD looks up to him for finding sweet success at such a young age.

GO BRONCOS!!!

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