NFL Preview - Pittsburgh (5-2) at Denver (6-1)

By Tony Moss, Sports Network - The Sports Network

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Fans in attendance at Invesco Field at Mile High to watch the Denver Broncos play host to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday night will have the opportunity to witness something unique. Namely, how the home team responds after a defeat.

There was no precedent for such a notion during the Broncos' first six games, as first-year head coach Josh McDaniels led the NFL's most surprising team to its first 6-0 start since the 1998 season. A combination of efficient offense, with quarterback Kyle Orton carefully leading the charge, and a revamped defense guided by new coordinator Mike Nolan, had helped Denver to shoot out of the gate and take a commanding lead in the AFC West.

But the first blip on the Broncos' radar arrived last Sunday, when Denver came off its bye and was drilled, 30-7, by a desperate Baltimore Ravens club.

Denver's offensive group managed just 200 yards on the day, including just 152 yards on 23-of-37 passing for Orton, while Denver stars Brandon Marshall (4 receptions, 24 yards) and Knowshon Moren (12 total touches, 35 yards) were held firmly in check on the day.

On the other side of the ball, the Broncos allowed Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco to complete 20-of-25 passes for 175 yards and a touchdown without a turnover, and Nolan's unit had some trouble limiting the effectiveness of running back Ray Rice (28 total touches, 108 yards, 1 TD) as well.

The Broncos special teams provided for a negative moment as well, allowing Ravens rookie kickoff returner Lardarius Webb to set the tone for the final 30 minutes by bringing back the opening kickoff of the second half for a 95-yard touchdown.

One week later, the Broncos will try to move to 4-0 at home on the season, while proving their previous magic still exists by taking down the defending Super Bowl champion Steelers.

Pittsburgh (5-2) remains very much in the playoff and AFC North title mixes thanks to a four-game winning streak, which was extended most recently on Oct. 25, when the Steelers handed Brett Favre and the Vikings (27-17) their only loss of the 2009 season to date.

A pair of huge defensive plays in the fourth quarter helped the Steelers head into their bye week on a winning note.

Early in the frame, Favre was stripped of the football by Steelers end Brett Keisel, and the ball was scooped up by linebacker LaMarr Woodley, who rambled for a 77-yard touchdown to help push the advantage to 20-10.

After the Vikings had narrowed the lead to 20-17, and Favre had driven the offense to the Pittsburgh 19-yard-line with 1:15 to play - in reach of a game- tying score, at least - the Steelers sealed the game when a screen pass attempt to Chester Taylor bounced off the usually sure-handed running back's mitts and into the arms of Steelers linebacker Keyaron Fox, who took it 82 yards to the house as a delirious Heinz Field crowd rejoiced.

The Broncos contest will be the start of a critical two-game stretch for the Steelers, who will head back home to face the surprising AFC North-contending Bengals on a short week next Sunday.

SERIES HISTORY

Denver has a 13-6-1 advantage in the all-time regular season series with Pittsburgh, and has won its last three regular season meetings with the Steelers. The Broncos were 31-28 home winners when the teams last met, in 2007. The Steelers are 0-4 in regular season matchups played in Denver since recording its last such win, in 1990.

The Broncos and Steelers have split six games in the postseason, including a 34-17 Pittsburgh win in the 2005 AFC Championship from Invesco Field at Mile High. The Broncos had won the previous postseason meeting between the teams, a 24-21 win at Three Rivers Stadium in the 1997 Championship. Denver also won AFC Divisional Playoff matchups in 1977 (34-21) and 1989 (24-23), while losing Divisional Playoff games in 1978 (33-10) 1984 (24-17).