4 keys to Denver Broncos Week 2 matchup against Pittsburgh Steelers

Broncos Offense vs. Steelers Defense

The biggest matchup in this game is how the Broncos' offense matches up against that tough Steelers defense. 

Nix is entering his second game in his NFL career, and facing Tomlin is not an easy task. He will have to take what he learned against Mike Macdonald and the Seahawks' defense last week and put his best foot forward against a better defense to secure the win in front of the home crowd. 

In his head coaching career, Tomlin is 25-6 against rookie quarterbacks, which does not bold well for Nix’s home debut in the Mile High. 

One of the six rookie quarterbacks to defeat Tomlin was just last year when Brock Purdy defeated the Steelers in Pittsburgh in the season opener. 

The Steelers always have one of the best defenses in the league each year, and it starts and ends with Watt and how destructive he is to opposing offensive lines. 

Payton will do his best to gameplan around Watt and attack the Steelers' defense in specific ways to help out his rookie quarterback, but the wide receivers need to step up more than anyone on the offense in Week 2. 

Courtland Sutton and Josh Reynolds were among the worst wide receivers in creating separation in Week 1, and they need to do a better job helping out their rookie quarterback.

In their Week 1 encounter, the Broncos offensive line struggled to stop the Seahawks' pass rush, with right tackle Mike McGlinchey giving up a game-high five pressures. Given that their 20.2% quick pressure rate and 2.52 second time to pressure both ranked fourth in the NFL last season, the Steelers are excellent at applying pressure to the quarterback quickly and often. 

The Broncos need to run the ball effectively to succeed against the Steelers, opening up other options for Nix as the game progresses. Despite going against another great defense, Nix is expected to be more consistent in his Mile High debut and execute at a high level with Payton on Sunday.