Broncos Defense vs. Steelers Offense
It's an interesting matchup on paper, but one that favors Denver in multiple areas.
With new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith and quarterbacks Justin Fields and Russell Wilson, there are still many unknowns about that unit, including who will start on Sunday. It’s trending to be Fields for a second straight game, meaning Wilson will not make his season debut against his former team in Denver.
Smith is known for his excellent run schemes as head coach in Atlanta and as the OC in Tennessee. With a great run game comes a dangerous play-action game, and we saw that from the Steelers in Week 1.
Fields used play-action on 53.6% (career-high) of dropbacks against the Falcons and completed 69.2% of his passes, compared to the 61.8% he completed last year under play-action.
According to Next Gen Stats, the Broncos' play-action defense was a weakness last season as they gave up the highest completion percentage (75.7%) and highest completion percentage over expected (+8.9%) on such passes.
On the other hand, the Broncos' defense looks very different, and it showed against the Seahawks in Week 1. With more depth on the defensive line and changes in the secondary, Vance Joseph's defense is younger and faster.
In Week 1, the Broncos' defense blitzed on exactly half of Geno Smith's dropbacks, forcing a sack and an interception.
According to Next Gen Stats, they had the highest blitz percentage of any defense in Week 1, at 50.0%. Baron Browning and Jonathan Cooper led the team with five pressures apiece.
Pat Surtain II will be tasked to contain George Pickens, who saw all of his production in Week 1 on targets outside the numbers with seven targets, six receptions, and 85 receiving yards.
The Steelers' offensive line struggled with run blocking, ranking 28th in the league in efficiency. The Broncos can exploit those deficiencies in that offensive line, starting with players like Zach Allen, John Franklin-Myers, and more.