AFC Divisional Round 2016 Game Preview: Pittsburgh Steelers Face Uphill Climb Against the Denver Broncos
The Pittsburgh Steelers had to go through difficult challenges to reach this far, and after squeaking out a close win against the Cincinnati Bengals in the wild card, they now face an almost insurmountable task of beating the number 1 team in the AFC Playoffs, the Denver Broncos.
This AFC divisional round matchup pits two of the most storied franchises in the division. While Denver carries a better record and ranking heading into the postseason, Pittsburgh is no pushover, thanks to a string of impressive victories as of late.
When these two teams meet, it's always a treat for the fans especially when it comes to individual matchups. Who wouldn't want to see Peyton Manning and Ben Roethlisberger cancelling each other out in the field? And yes, Manning is expected to start this game in place of Brock Osweiler. There are also some intriguing battles, including Martavis Bryant and Emmanuel Sanders and that of Demaryius Thomas and Antonio Brown.
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Regular season numbers
The Steelers averaged 287.7 yards in passing and 107.8 yards in rushing. On defense, meanwhile, they gave up 271.9 yards (passing) and 91.2 yards (rushing).
For the Broncos, the season averages are 248.1 yards (passing) and 107.4 yards (rushing). For defense, they yielded 199.6 in passing and 83.6 yards in rushing.
On paper, these two teams are so close in season averages, which is a good indication of how close this game might be.
It may be true that Denver is the slight favorite to move on to the conference championships, but it will be a completely different game if the likes of Roethlisberger, Williams, and Brown are a hundred percent fit to play. It is also worthy to mention that the Steelers actually beat the Broncos back in Week 15. Well, that alone should put the former in good position to somehow cast doubt to the latter when it comes to handily beating them. Anyhow, there really is no such thing as an easy game in this divisional round.
Game info
Date: January 17
Game Time: 4:40 p.m. ET
Venue: Sports Authority Field
TV Coverage: CBS
Live Stream: NFL Game Pass
