[Insert Witty "Mile High" Remark Here]

Bye week, secured! Next up, the Denver Broncos at Invesco Field for a little Sunday primetime action. So in anticipation, OFTOT proudly brings you "5 Good Reasons Why The Steelers Could Beat The Broncos," which in the interest of tempering enthusiasm and not getting ahead of ourselves, will be followed promptly by "5 Good Reasons Why The Broncos Could Beat The Steelers." So without further ado...enjoy the following 5 Good Reasons Why The Steelers Could Beat The Broncos...because thinking about a win is just significantly more fun.

Now let's just get this out of the way up front -- if you're into rankings and what not, consider this: the Broncos are 28th out of 32 in points scored, and 23rd out of 32 in points allowed. But that aside, because those don't automatically translate into a win, why could the Steelers beat the Broncos? I'm glad you asked.

1. The Broncos 2 wins ~ If you can recall their 2 victories this season, they were -- beating the Buffalo Bills (1-4) on a last second field goal, and an overtime win against the Oakland Raiders (2-3). When the Broncos faced the Bills Week 1 in Buffalo, before the Travis Henry reefer scandal (which unfortunately does not help us), they just barely eked out a 15-14 win on an unprecedented 42-yard Jason Elam field goal. Sure Elam had missed 2 others on the day, which would've made the score a little more favorable, but it is what it is - always a chance he could miss 2 more in any game. As for the Oakland game, the Broncos gave up 200 yards on the ground and despite pulling down 3 picks and Jay Cutler passing for 269 yards, still had to win the game in overtime. And this was a long standing Division rivalry game!! Rather unimpressive if you ask me.


2. Jay Cutler ~ Jay Cutler's 2007 stat line - 4 TDs / 6 INTs. Yes, more numbers for you. But these actually DO mean something [in theory]. Anytime you have an uneven TD to INT ratio, it's bad. By these numbers, basically for every TD he throws, he throws 1.5 INTs, not to mention he has thrown on average at least 1 pick per game (hard to talk avgs through only 6 weeks but what are you gonna do...). Again, rather unimpressive if you ask me. Note: This is particularly important when you think about how stingy the Steelers D has been in giving up yards on the ground, which could very well force them to take to the air. 'Course we'll come back to that when I write the companion post on why the Broncos could beat the Steelers.


3. Broncos Run D ~ The Broncos are ranked 31 out of 32 in rushing yards allowed. Conversely, Fast William Parker is top dog (er...#6) in rushing yards. The Broncos give up an average of 5+ yards per rushing attempt, and when you consider the sheer probability of Willie breaking a big one when given the ball 25+ times, this bodes pretty well. Plus, if we're tearing through the Broncos, Tomlin may see fit to give Najeh a few more looks, which could just further wear down the Denver front 7 and keep Time of Possession in our favor.


4. The last time Pittsburgh traveled to Denver ~ January 2006 for the AFC Championship game, where we steamrolled the Broncos 34-17. Sure, we were on an emotional high after beating the Colts in dramatic fashion the week prior, but we won a big game there against what I think most would argue was a better Broncos team [than the one we face this Sunday], at least Defensively (Jake Plummer vs. Jay Cutler = debatable). Yes, the Broncos came in to the 'Burgh last season and beat us 31-20, but we committed 6 turnovers in that game. Count 'em, 6! Note: this included including 3 Big Ben INTs...


5. Big Ben ~ piggybacking off that last thought - Big Ben last year through 6 games (the first 6 he played that is): 6 TDs / 11 INTs (an avg. of just about 1 TD and 2 INTs per game...). Big Ben this year: 9 TDs / 3INTs. (an avg. of about 1.5 TDs and .5 INTs per game...) What a difference a year and a new look Coaching Staff makes. Of course, this does not mean Ben will come out and pick apart the Broncos. Any team with Champ Bailey on one side, Dre Bly on the other and John Lynch at Safety makes me just a tad bit nervous...ok, really nervous...but should we continue our offensive production at pace, just maybe my fears will be allayed.

So there you have it. 5 GOOD reasons why the Steelers very well COULD beat the Broncos on Sunday. But every Sunday is different, and on any given weekend, any team can beat you. Especially a team like the Broncos. Hence, I urge you to stay tuned for the follow up, "5 Reasons Why The Broncos Could Beat the Steelers." Till then, talk amongst yourselves...or comment here. That'd be nice for a change. Have I mentioned I like getting and responding to comments? Well I do...so leave 'em.

Denver Stats [ESPN]
More Denver Stats [Pro-Football-Reference]
Steelers return to tough stretch that doesn't look so difficult [Tribune-Review]
Next two opponents play to Steelers' strength [Post-Gazette]