First, let me start out by saying that anyone that knows me, knows full well that I am not a "homer". I do not blindly back my team while ignoring shortcomings, deficiencies and the blatantly obvious. I hate those fans, but that will be the subject of a future post. The subject at hand is tomorrow's Wildcard matchup vs. the Steelers.
Let's start on Offense. Pittsburgh comes in on the back of a very shaky Ben Roethlisberger and his severely sprained ankle ( which he said was a "5 out of 10" after re-injuring it in the final week of the Season ). He is clearly having trouble with any semblance of a pass rush...and Denver brings 5 on almost 50% of it's plays on Defense. Elvis Dumervil and rookie Von Miller combined for 21 Sacks this season, and look to bring that pressure in spades.
Besides "Big Ben" being hobbled, feature HB Rashard Mendenhall is out with a torn ACL, leaving the running duties to Isaac Redman on Sunday. Redman put up just under 100 and scored a TD after taking over...but lost 2 fumbles as well. I like that.Other than that, I love the matchups of Denver's DBs vs. Pittsburgh's WRs. LOVE IT.
Denver's Offense is a completely different, and transparent, story. Tim Tebow has seemed to regress a little bit over the last 3 weeks, but the kid has proven that he can win big games in his short career as a QB. We know he has the heart and determination, just not the skill-set yet. One thing he doesn't do, is turn the ball over...which is something he has got to continue tomorrow to give us a shot. We aren't going to win on his arm, and against this Steeler D we can't rely on his legs to do it all, but keeping that ball in our possession and not making young mistakes is what we can benefit from. Remember, Trent Dilfer won a ring as a starter...and he's fucking dreadful. Also, if you think Tim's confidence has been shaken - you're dead wrong.
I believe that Denver's running game can, indeed, grind hard against the Steel Curtain and do some real damage. Our almost 170 YPG on the ground isn't nearly all Tebow. Willis McGahee put up 1,200 on his own and Lance Ball and Jeremiah Johnson seem to run well in this Offense as well. Our ground game just needs to punch it in more often tomorrow for us to be successful. And against the League's best Run Defense, it will be a tough task...but doable.
I also look for WR Eric Decker to have a big game tomorrow.
The Pittsburgh D comes to the rare air of Denver hobbled a bit as well, but I believe that even in their state right now, they are still a great Defense. Lamaar Woodley is continually pulling that hamstring and was even listed as Questionable early in the week. I know he won't miss this game, but I like him being less than 100%. Ryan Clark can't even suit up...as the last time he played in Denver, he had his spleen and gallbladder surgically removed. That hurts their Secondary more than Pittsburgh fans let on.
Denver's Defense, while young, has proven to be brilliant at times...and opportunistic at best. Like I stated earlier, I love the matchup between their Secondary and Pittsburgh's WRs. Champ is, well...Champ. We know what we get from him. Andre Goodman can cover and is as smart as they come. Those two, coupled with Brian Dawkins add the much needed experience that this young D needs to help them through. With Pittsburgh hobbled Offense, I think they can keep us in the game going in to the final Quarter. Our pass rush is fast, driven and has proven to be killer when at it's best. And it will need to be come 4:15 tomorrow.
On the other hand, Ben could come out and put up a quick 17...and that might be insurmountable.
Good news for both teams: the last two times they met in the Playoffs, the winner went on to the Super Bowl.
In the end, of course, anything can happen. It won't come down to Jesus, though. We need a solid showing all around to beat even a slightly crippled Steeler team. Spot on Special Teams, ball control and a young Defense to play their collective asses off. Something Jesus can't provide. But, just in case the Son of God does play a factor, I leave you with this:
