Ok, so it doesn’t look good.
With key players out, the Steelers have the NFL’s worst odds to win Super Bowl 50. According to Bovada’s latest odds, the Cardinals are the NFL favorite at +400 and the Steelers are at the other end of the spectrum at +1400.
The Steelers are short-handed for their meeting in Denver on Sunday. Antonio Brown will be on the sidelines in sweats. DeAngelo Williams, after sitting out last week, will miss a second consecutive game with a foot injury. The only bright side is that Roethlisberger, after leaving last week’s game with a shoulder injury, practiced fully on Friday and should be ready to play against the Broncos.
Chin up. All is not lost.
With @AntonioBrown84 & @DeAngeloRB out, @Steelers become 1st team to play a playoff game w/o leading WR & RB since the ’79 Oilers. They won.
Roethlisberger lines up Saturday against Denver’s defense, the same one that led the NFL in yards allowed. But in their first meeting, Roethlisberger was 40/55 for 380 yards in a 34-27 win. Most of those yards went to Antonio Brown, but Martavis Bryant and Markus Wheaton did combine for 14 catches for nearly 150 yards. The Steelers had no problem relying on Roethlisberger without a run game, and his other targets have been improving weekly.
On the other side of the ball, the Steelers were carved up by Brock Osweiler for 296 yards and three scores. Now with Peyton Manning under center, the Broncos are as high as an eight-point favorite according to OddsShark.com.
But since when was the Broncos offense so prolific? Manning may have changed the game in his last week against the Chargers, but that doesn’t excuse how terrible the Broncos started the season on offense. Denver scored more than 30 points only twice this season, and one of those took overtime against New England. They failed to score more than 19 points six times this season, including twice in December. If the Steelers can control the line of scrimmage and put pressure on Manning, they could grind out a win on Sunday.
After Sunday, it’s a toss-up of two regular season rematches. Both the Chiefs and Patriots defeated the Steelers earlier this season, but injuries could play a major role in the final week before Super Bowl 50.