Jan 15, 2016 4 min read

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The big news today was that Antonio Brown will not play this week for the Steelers because he couldn’t work his way through concussion protocol in time for the game.

That’s a big blow for the Steelers to be sure.

Brown had 16 receptions for 189 yards and two scores against the Broncos in a 34-27 win last month and you just can’t replace the NFL’s best receiver.

So the Steelers will have to make due with Martavis Bryant, Markus Wheaton and Darrius Heyward-Bey. It’s not the worst group in the world, to be sure, but it’s not as explosive as it usually is.

That will put more on the plate of quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. Roethlisberger will play in this game despite a sprained right shoulder.

But I don’t expect to see him throw the ball 55 times like he did in that previous matchup. First of all, it was at Heinz Field, not in Denver, where this game will take place. And secondly, without Brown the Steelers just don’t have the advantage in the passing game that they did previously, when Denver was missing starting safeties T.J. Ward and Darian Stewart.

Can the Steelers win this game? Sure.

For that to happen, the defense is going to have to carry the load. We saw that unit play well earlier in the season when Roethlisberger missed four starts with a knee injury. And Peyton Manning, at this point in his storied career, is a turnover waiting to happen.

In fact, in four home starts this season, Manning has thrown one touchdown pass and eight interceptions.

If the Steelers can stop the run – they ranked fifth in the league doing so this season – they might be able to get Manning to cough the ball up a couple of times.

Denver’s run game also averages about 60 yards less with Manning at quarterback than it did with backup Brock Osweiller. That is significant and since both quarterbacks started at least seven games, it’s enough to be considered a trend.

But Pittsburgh’s defense will need to play its game of the year for the Steelers to win this one. The Steelers are 11-2 when they force a turnover this season. They also are 0-5 when they lose the turnover battle outright.

So turnovers will again be key.

One other place where Brown will be missed could be as a punt returner. Markus Wheaton will likely handle those duties for the Steelers in this game. And though he’s worked on it in practice, he’s never returned a punt in a regular season game. Wheaton has good hands, but that should make people nervous in a game of this magnitude.

Denver allowed just 3.3 yards per rushing attempt this season to lead the NFL, so getting the ground game going as the Steelers did last week in Cincinnati with Fitzgerald Toussaint and Jordan Todman will be something of a chore.

The Steelers are 7 1/2-point underdogs in this game and that might be a bit too much.

I think Denver will win the game, but the Steelers should keep it close.

Take Denver, 20-16

* The NFL handed out the remainder of its fines from the Steelers-Bengals game.

For Pittsburgh, coaches Joey Porter and Mike Munchak were fined $10,000 each, while guard Ramon Foster was docked $17,363 for unnecessary roughness.

Cincinnati’s fine ledger was quite a bit larger. In addition to Vontaze Burfict’s three-game suspension without pay, which was announced earlier this week, Adam “Pacman” Jones drew a fine of nearly $29,000 for bumping an official while attempting to go after Porter.

Defensive linemen Domata Peko and Wallace Gilberrry were each docked $8,681 each for unnecessary roughness.