Defense finally rises to occasion

Monday, October 22, 2007

Broncos-Steelers box score

Six games into the season and the Broncos finally hit the defensive grand slam.

Sack. Interception. Fumble recovery. Defensive touchdown.

As easy as 1-2-3-4, the Broncos had them all Sunday night.

Aggressive and opportunistic have not been on the tip of anyone's tongue, even the Broncos', when describing all that has happened in the first month of the NFL calendar.

But they were all of that Sunday night, and Football America got a glimpse of Denver those ticket buyers in the seats hadn't really seen to this point in the season.

"We were challenged, coach (Mike) Shanahan challenged us, we challenged us," defensive tackle Elvis Dumervil said.

"We wanted to show what kind of team we had when everybody was watching. We knew we had it in us, but we hadn't really let it out. (Sunday) night was the night to do that and now we have to keep it going.

"We don't want it to be just one time where we show what have in us."

But out it came Sunday as the Broncos forced the issue and came away with a 31-28 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers at Invesco Field at Mile High, the third victory of the season punctuated by kicker Jason Elam's right foot.

Another as-the-clock-expired win that not only pushed the Broncos back to even-keel at 3-3, but despite all of their travails thus far, kept them just a sliver behind the 4-3 Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC West race and tied with the 3-3 San Diego Chargers, who had a bye.

And having come into Sunday night's game with a rather homely three-game losing streak in tow — two of those losses coming at home — the Broncos also were without center Tom Nalen, receiver Javon Walker and cornerback Champ Bailey.

Not exactly how they would line up the two deep to play the Steelers or anyone else for that matter and certainly something they'll have to get used to with Nalen out for the year, Walker out for at least a month and with them hoping for the best Bailey's left thigh injury is only a short-term worry.

Big losses all, but it was Bailey's absence that might have forced their hand some on defense. With the seven-time Pro Bowl selection out of the lineup, it was imperative for the Broncos to move things along up front.

"I think we got good pressure all night," linebacker D.J. Williams said.

"We needed to get to (Steelers quarterback Ben) Roethlisberger because he's great; you can't let him just stand there. We needed to force some things and we got it done."

Enough so that Dumervil and rookie Tim Crowder might have provided one of those crossroads plays — Dumervil had a second-quarter sack, also knocking the ball loose from Roethlisberger, a fumble Crowder scooped turned into a 50-yard run for a score — if the Broncos show they know where to go from there.

"And yeah, that's momentum right there," Dumervil said.

"We needed some of that."

Long way

The Broncos still are going to know just how serious they are about making something of the season by the time Thanksgiving rolls around.

They now get the 5-1 Packers next Monday night. Follow that with a trip to Detroit to face the 4-2 Lions, who are 3-0 at home, followed by a trip to Kansas City, where things don't often go well once the leaves have turned. Then the Titans (4-2) come to Denver on Nov. 19.

Four teams with imperfections all, certainly, but four teams that have done enough to push themselves to the top or near the top of their divisions.

Something the Broncos know a little about at the moment.

Go figure

The Broncos came into Sunday night's game with the worst run defense in the league, surrendering 187.6 yards per game.

Yet the Steelers decided to hand the ball to running back Willie Parker only three times in the first quarter — he took those for 10 yards — and 10 times in the first half.

By then the Broncos had a 21-7 lead that proved to be just enough to get them the win.

"That's just football," Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said.

Parker finished the opening half with 48 yards on the 10 carries, but 26 of those came on one second-quarter run. By the time the night was over, Parker had 93 yards on 21 carries, but it was still his second-lowest total of the season.

The only game this season Parker had fewer carries was 19 in the Steelers' only previous loss this season — to Arizona.

"We were a lot more consistent there," Shanahan said. "Much better in the running game. Still got a ways to go, but improving."

The Broncos did play plenty of eight-man fronts, with John Lynch or safety Nick Ferguson down near the line of scrimmage — more than they have previously this season — which the Steelers said did influence their play-calling.

Cool, calm, collected

Broncos quarterback Jay Cutler steadily has earned a little more trust from Broncos coaches as the season has gone along, with the second-year quarterback getting the most freedom to throw inside the opponent's 20-yard line than he has had all season.

Cutler likely has earned plenty more as well by bouncing back from a couple of interceptions to lead the Broncos on a 13-play, 79-yard drive to end the third quarter that wrestled the momentum back from the Steelers, who had closed to 21-14 before the touchdown drive.

Cutler also led the Broncos 49 yards in the final 1:10 to put Jason Elam in position for the 49-yard winner as time expired.

"That's what you've got to do in this league, you've got to bounce back . . . ," Cutler said. "That (third-quarter drive) sent a message we weren't going away. You've got to like those type of positions, those situations if you're the quarterback. That's where you make your money, that's where the fun is."

Added Shanahan: "He's fearless. He'll make a mistake, forget about it, come back and make a play. That's what you want from a quarterback."

Tony, Tony, Tony

One of the givens with tight end Tony Scheffler's increased playing time was Cutler would look for him plenty.

Cutler and Scheffler, who were roommates in their first professional training camp in summer 2006, have had an affinity on the field right from the start.

Scheffler, who has struggled in the early season as he tried to play his way through a recovery from a broken left foot he suffered during offseason workouts, had only two catches in five games coming into the game.

He had four catches and a touchdown before the third quarter was finished and had five catches in all for 50 yards and a touchdown as the Broncos worked plenty out of a two-tight end set against the Steelers' 3-4 defense.

With the Broncos playing without Javon Walker (right knee), they were more apt to push Scheffler down the field, where he could win some matchups against the Steelers linebacker and safeties.

"He was out there making plays," Cutler said. "All of the receivers were just out there making plays."

Number that counts

3rd down is going to have to be made a little more difficult for opposing offenses. In their three-game losing streak, the Broncos allowed teams to convert 20-of-36 third-down plays, a 56 percent success rate that is a long way from playoff worthy. Even in victory, the Broncos saw the Steelers go 6-for-9 on third down during the first half and 8-for-12 — 66.7 percent — overall.

Good bet

The Broncos under coach Mike Shanahan rarely have let three-game losing streaks turn into four-game losing streaks. It has happened twice since Shanahan became coach in 1995.

Year Losing streak Finish

1999 4 6-10

2006 4 9-7

2002 3 9-7

2003 3 10-6

2007 3 —

legwoldj@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-2359