What do you expect from PFM and the O?

[TDs3nOut]

I figure that without Williams and Brown playing, somewhere around 24 points is likely enough to win the game. Can Peyton write a chapter in what could be a story book ending? I really hope so.

 

[CEH]

Over/under on self sacks. 2

 

[58crash]

good luck ..with these yahoo's

 

[TDs3nOut]

I am very torn about what to expect. I recall Peyton shredding us a couple of years in the playoffs when he was with Indy, the historic heights he led our offense to a couple of years ago, and, of course, the failures against Baltimore and Seattle.

Really no telling, in my opinion, what to expect. Certainly know that I hope he plays well, and I would not bet against him.

 

[cdumler7]

My guess is the team plays a pretty conservative game plan with the run game being the focus. They are going to lean heavily on the defense in this one and decide that playing a clean game on the offensive side of the ball will be enough. I think we see something like 20/30 for 240 yards and 1 touchdown for Manning. As for the offense as a whole I would say they score 24 points with both Hillman and Anderson both getting a touchdown in this game.

 

[TDs3nOut]

My guess is the team plays a pretty conservative game plan with the run game being the focus. They are going to lean heavily on the defense in this one and decide that playing a clean game on the offensive side of the ball will be enough. I think we see something like 20/30 for 240 yards and 1 touchdown for Manning. As for the offense as a whole I would say they score 24 points with both Hillman and Anderson both getting a touchdown in this game.

Steelers defense has been better against the run than it's been against the pass. We also struggled to run the ball on them several weeks ago. I do agree that we will probably try to establish the run and play pretty conservatively, but I think Manning will probably end up having to make some throws downfield in order to win.

If the defense can hold Pittsburgh under 20 points, then I think we most likely win. Obviously need the offense to not give up points, too!

 

[cdumler7]

Steelers defense has been better against the run than it's been against the pass. We also struggled to run the ball on them several weeks ago. I do agree that we will probably try to establish the run and play pretty conservatively, but I think Manning will probably end up having to make some throws downfield in order to win.

If the defense can hold Pittsburgh under 20 points, then I think we most likely win. Obviously need the offense to not give up points, too!

Not sure I agree that we struggled to completely run the ball last time against them. We had 25 carries for 104 yards. That is over 4 yards per carry which isn't too bad in the NFL. It wasn't our best game by far but I think we can find success on the ground.

To me the problem in the last game against them had to do with very untimely mistakes. 1st drive of the game we fumble after Hillman has picked up 9 yards leading to them scoring a touchdown. After that we find a lot of success the rest of the 1st half. 2nd half our first drive we are actually moving the ball after picking a 1st down to then have a holding call set us up for a very long 1st and 20 to which we end up having to punt. The next drive we have a dropped pass on the 1st play. The next drive we hit a deep pass to then miss DT streaking down the sideline for a touchdown. By this point our offense was completely out of sync.

The combination of turnovers/penalties/dropped passes really destroyed any chance of us getting anything going especially in that 2nd half. That to me will be the big thing in this game is not killing ourselves with the stupid mistakes. When we have lost this year it has been a combination of those 3 things. I pointed out somewhere else that in the games we lost there was only one of those that we didn't lose the turnover battle and that one it was 2-2. All the others we lost by 2 or more turnovers.

 

[iknowftbll]

The Steelers defense has been playing the run better, down the stretch, but I agree the Broncos still make it an area of focus this week. To do it they are going to have to connect on some pass plays over the top, though. I think this game will look like many other games the Broncos have played this season. Likely a couple mistakes on offense with the defense having to come to the rescue. Probably a 1-score game. I'd guess 24-17 Broncos.

 

[TDs3nOut]

Not sure I agree that we struggled to completely run the ball last time against them. We had 25 carries for 104 yards. That is over 4 yards per carry which isn't too bad in the NFL. It wasn't our best game by far but I think we can find success on the ground.

To me the problem in the last game against them had to do with very untimely mistakes. 1st drive of the game we fumble after Hillman has picked up 9 yards leading to them scoring a touchdown. After that we find a lot of success the rest of the 1st half. 2nd half our first drive we are actually moving the ball after picking a 1st down to then have a holding call set us up for a very long 1st and 20 to which we end up having to punt. The next drive we have a dropped pass on the 1st play. The next drive we hit a deep pass to then miss DT streaking down the sideline for a touchdown. By this point our offense was completely out of sync.

The combination of turnovers/penalties/dropped passes really destroyed any chance of us getting anything going especially in that 2nd half. That to me will be the big thing in this game is not killing ourselves with the stupid mistakes. When we have lost this year it has been a combination of those 3 things. I pointed out somewhere else that in the games we lost there was only one of those that we didn't lose the turnover battle and that one it was 2-2. All the others we lost by 2 or more turnovers.

Sanders broke a long run that makes the rushing stats look better than I think really were. We didn't run the ball particularly well against them, though. I hope that we have better success running the ball in two days, and we might. Still think it's likely that the passing offense is going to need to make a few plays, though.

 

[cdumler7]

Sanders broke a long run that makes the rushing stats look better than I think really were. We didn't run the ball particularly well against them, though. I hope that we have better success running the ball in two days, and we might. Still think it's likely that the passing offense is going to need to make a few plays, though.

I think we stand a chance for the run game to be better. We go from having a huge chunk of our team on the injured list and about 15 players listed as questionable or worse for the last meeting to most likely 0 players being in that spot for this upcoming one. The OL is about as healthy as it has been all season so I do think the run game stand a very good chance. They are a decent to good run defense though which is why I think Manning has to start out playing well in this one to really back that defense off.

 

[TDs3nOut]

I think we stand a chance for the run game to be better. We go from having a huge chunk of our team on the injured list and about 15 players listed as questionable or worse for the last meeting to most likely 0 players being in that spot for this upcoming one. The OL is about as healthy as it has been all season so I do think the run game stand a very good chance. They are a decent to good run defense though which is why I think Manning has to start out playing well in this one to really back that defense off.

It would certainly be awesome to have a big day running the ball. I know that CJ and Hillman are both capable of big games. If they combine for over 100 yards rushing, then I think we most likely win.

 

[iknowftbll]

Not only that, but a big day running the ball means two games in a row, and that means more for our opponent* in the AFCCG to think about. That can open up opportunities for Manning to dice them up throwing. He's still Manning, and he's still got DT, Sanders, an a ludicrous collection of adequate to above average 2nd tier WRs and TEs.

Honestly I am having a hard time knowing what to expect, but I can't help but feel this team is about to embark on a very memorable 3-game run. It's just a feeling. I lacked this feeling last year, and honestly wasn't surprised when the Colts won. This year just feels a lot different.

*I am assuming a big game running the ball will translate into a win for the Broncos.

 

[randymon]

One thing that worries me the most.....If Denver struggles early in run game especially for 2 tars, they tend to give up to early and get one dimensional and with the uncertainty with Manning,that could be very problematic. I hope game plan is to go deep early and connect on a couple and that will help open up run game and the short passes. I think they need to open it up for them to keep Pitt off balance and win this game. The run game is there,but they need to out game plan Tomlin and Steelers. Steelers D knows this and want to see if Manning can beat them with his arm. Go CJ ,Hilman and O line !!

 

[cdumler7]

One thing that worries me the most.....If Denver struggles early in run game especially for 2 tars, they tend to give up to early and get one dimensional and with the uncertainty with Manning,that could be very problematic. I hope game plan is to go deep early and connect on a couple and that will help open up run game and the short passes. I think they need to open it up for them to keep Pitt off balance and win this game. The run game is there,but they need to out game plan Tomlin and Steelers. Steelers D knows this and want to see if Manning can beat them with his arm. Go CJ ,Hilman and O line !!

I would say the Broncos have done better this year of staying balanced than in past years. I mean even the games we were down by 14 Kubiak still kept calling run plays and in a couple of those games that was huge as those runs helped win us the game. Compare that to last year where we were down by 7 to the Rams early on in the game and decided to not run the ball for 2 straight quarters.

 

[Malibu]

The only number that will decide the fate of the Broncos offense and season is turnovers. It's pretty simple. Don't turn the ball over and the Broncos will score enough. If the Broncos don't turn the ball over versus the Chargers in the last week of the year they would have won that game easily and would have been over before halftime. Don't put the defense in bad situations and this team can win it all. Manning will see pressure in his face and he just can't make the big mistake or else it will cost the Broncos. Broncos beat Steelers 24-13 is my prediction.

 

[Malibu]

Over/under on self sacks. 2

Over

 

[TDs3nOut]

The only number that will decide the fate of the Broncos offense and season is turnovers. It's pretty simple. Don't turn the ball over and the Broncos will score enough. If the Broncos don't turn the ball over versus the Chargers in the last week of the year they would have won that game easily and would have been over before halftime. Don't put the defense in bad situations and this team can win it all. Manning will see pressure in his face and he just can't make the big mistake or else it will cost the Broncos. Broncos beat Steelers 24-13 is my prediction.

Turnover differential is likely to be a key, as it is each week. It's what scares me about Manning. Really hope he's up to the task. He played better against SD than he did most of the season. Would love for him to have one of those 300+ yards with 3 or 4 TD games that he used to so routinely put up. Steelers pass defense has given up a lot of yards this year, though they defended us effectively in the second half of the game a few weeks ago.

 

[Mingo]

I expect a 50/50 pass run ratio - with Peyton doing a lot of short passes and a couple of long attempts off play action. You want to get Manning some rhythm passing. The Broncos can practice the run game after the run up the score.

 

[MileHigh64]

I know the Steelers are good at stopping the run but so were the Patriots and the Bengals and our backs had success in those games. The run game sealed those eventual victories. I don't think the Broncos will give up on the run at any point in the four quarters unless the team is down by 2 or 3 scores. I still think Kubiak will want to limit Peyton's passes in this game.

I also think that one of the biggest reasons that we lost to the Steelers last month was the uncharacteristic and poor tackling by the Broncos defense. Time and time again, their backs and receivers were getting extra yards that led to 1st downs for Pittsburgh. If the Broncos had merely tackled up to their usual standard, they may have very well come out of Pittsburgh with a victory.

Broncos win this game.

 

[WalkerBoh]

Honestly, I could throw a bunch of darts at a board and have a better chance of hitting on how Manning plays than trying to guess. I literally have no clue. Manning did look comfortable in the SD game, but he also missed on a few passes I think the not so old Manning hits. Still, I think whatever happens, it'll be enough to beat the Squeelers.