Denver Broncos (13‐4) vs. Pittsburgh Steelers (11‐7) Sunday, Jan. 17, 2015 • 2:40 p.m. MST • Sports Authority Field at Mile High FINAL SCORE: BRONCOS 23, STEELERS 16 • ATTENDANCE: 76,,956
BRONCOS EARN 10th AFC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME BBERTH WITH WIN OVER STEELERS
The Denver Broncos (13‐4) defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers (11‐7) by a score of 23‐16 to advance to their 10th AFC Championship Game in franchise history. Nine of the club’s 10 AFC title game appearances have come under Owner Pat Bowlen, tying Denver for the fourth‐most conference title game appearances under a single pro football owner.
MOST CONFERENCE TITLE GAME APPEARANCES AMONG PRO FOOTBALL OWNERS Owner No.
1. Clint Murchison Jr., Dal. 12 2. Al Davis, Oak. 10
Edward DeBartolo Jr., S.F. 10 4. Pat Bowlen, Den. 9
Robert Kraft, N.E. 9 6. Dan Rooney, Pit. 8
McMANUS TIES NFL POSTSEASON RECORD FOR FIELD GOALS
Broncos K Brandon McManus tied an NFL postseason record with five field goals made (28, 41, 51, 41, 45) against the Steelers. He became just the seventh player to make all five field goals attempted in a playoff contest. McManus’ 51‐yard field goal at the end of the first half tied for the second‐longest field goal in Broncos postseason history.
MOST FGs, SINGLE GAME, NFL POSTSEASON HISTORY LONGEST FIELD GOALS, Player Opp. (Date) FGM FGA BRONCOS POSTSEASON HISTORY Chuck Nelson, Min. at S.F. (1/9/88) 5 5 Player Opp. (Date) Length Matt Bahr, NYG at S.F. (1/20/91) 5 6 1.. Matt Prater vs. N.E. (1/19/14) 54 Steve Christie, Buf. at Mia. (1/17/93) 5 6 2. Brandon McManus vs. Pit. (1/17/16) 51 Brad Daluiso, NYG vs. Min. (12/27/97) 5 5 Jason Elam vs. G.B. (1/25/98) 51 John Kasay, Car. vs. Dal. (1/3/04) 5 5 4.. Jason Elam vs. N.E. (1/14/06) 50 Jeff Wilkins, Stl. vs. Car. (1/10/04) 5 6 5.. Jason Elam at Ind. (1/4/04) 49 Adam Vinatieri, N.E. vs. Ind. (1/18/04) 5 5 David Treadwell vs. Hou. (1/4/92) 49 Adam Vinatieri, Ind. at Bal. (1/13/07) 5 5 Mason Crosby, G.B. at Sea. (1/18/15) 5 5 Brandon McManus, Den. vs. Pit. (1/17/16) 5 5
KUBIAK WINS POSTSEASON DEBUT AS BRONCOS HEAD COACH
Broncos Head Coach Gary Kubiak joined Red Miller (1977) and John Fox (2011) as the only three head coaches in team history to win their postseason debuts. Interestingly, all three coaches earned wins in their postseason debuts in home games against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
HEAD COACHES TO WIN POSTSEASON DEBUT WITH THE BRONCOS Coach Opp. (Date) Result Red Miller vs. Pit. (12/24/77) W, 34‐21 John Fox vs. Pit. (1/8/12) W, 29‐23 (OT) Gary Kubiak vs. Pit. (1/17/16) W, 23‐16
THOMAS SETS TEAM RECORD FOR CAREER POSTSEASON RECEPTIONS
Denver WR Demaryius Thomas, who caught four passes for 40 yards (10.0 avg.) against Pittsburgh, now has 50 career postseason receptions to pass Ring of Fame WR Rod Smith for the most in franchise history. Thomas also moved past WR Vance Johnson (715 yds.) into second place on the club’s all‐time postseason list with 739 receiving yards.
MOST RECEPTIONS, MOST RECEIVING YARDS, BRONCOS POSTSEASON HISTORY BRONCOS POSTSEASON HISTORY Player Rec. Player Yds. 1. Demaryius Thomas 50 1. Rod Smith 860 2. Rod Smith 49 2. Demaryius Thomas 739 3. Shannon Sharpe 47 3. Vance Johnson 715 4. Vance Johnson 40 4. Shannon Sharpe 505 5. Ed McCaffrey 36 5. Ed McCaffrey 490
MANNING EARNS 12th POSTSEASON WIN
Broncos QB Peyton Manning earned his 12th career postseason win to pass Ben Roethlisberger, Troy Aikman and Roger Staubach for the sixth most among quarterbacks in history.
MOST POSTSEASON VICTORIES BY A QUARTERBACK, NFL HISTORY Player No. 1. Tom Brady 22 2. Joe Montana 16 3. John Elway 14 Terry Bradshaw 14 5. Brett Favre 13 6. Peyton Manning 12
BOLDEN HELPS DENVER SCORE FIRST
Broncos CB Omar Bolden helped Denver set up its first field goal of the game with a 42‐yard punt return in the first quarter. The play marked the third‐longest punt return in Broncos postseason history.
LONGEST PUNT RETURNS, BRONCOS POSTSEASON HISTORY Player Opp. (Date) Length 1. Trindon Holliday vs. Bal. (1/12/13) 90t 2. Eric Decker vs. S.D. (1/12/14) 47 3. Omar Bolden vs. Pit. (1/17/16) 42 4. Darrien Gordon at K.C. (1/4/98) 36 Darrien Gordon vs. NYJ (1/17/99) 36
MISCELLANEOUS GAME NOTES
* ‐ Denver’s game captains were QB Peyton Manning (offense), OLB Von Miller (defense) and ILB Todd Davis (special teams). * ‐ The Broncos’ win represented their third fourth‐quarter comeback of the season (all against ’15 playoff teams) as the team improved to 3‐1 in games when trailing entering the fourth quarter. * ‐ Denver gave up 278 yards on Pittsburgh’s eight most explosive offensive plays but yielded just 118 yards (2.3 avg.) on the Steelers’ 51 other plays.
Denver Broncos
Miscellaneous Statistics 2 World Championships • 7 Super Bowls • 9 AFC Championship Games • 14 AFC West Titles • 22 Playoff Berths • 28 Winning Seasons (21 10‐Win)
Sunday, January 17, 2016 • 2:40 p.m. MST • Sports Authority Field at Mile High • Denver, Colo. DENVER BRONCOS 23, PITTSBURGH STEELERS 16 • AFC DIVISIONAL PLAYOFF • ATTENDANCE: 76,956
DRIVE ENGINEERING
Drives Drives Ended By ------Points Quarterback, Team (*Plays/Yards) Started TD FG FGA Punt Downs Turn. Safety Clock (Rplcd) Yielded MANNING, Denver (69-325) ...... 14 1 5 0 6 1 0 0 1 (0) 23 ROETHLISBERGER, Pittsburgh (58-396) ... 13 1 3 0 6 2 1 0 0 (0) 16 *—not including aborted plays, kneel‐downs or spiked passes to stop clock.
FIRST DOWN TENDENCIES
Rushing------Passing------Overall------Times Gained------Miscellany--- Team Plays Yards Avg. Plays Yards Avg. Plays Yards Avg. 20+ 10+ 5+ 2- 0 Neg TD QBS TO DENVER ...... 14 42 3.0 18 127 7.1 32 169 5.3 1 9 12 16 8 3 0 1 0 Pittsburgh ...... 10 65 6.5 17 105 6.2 27 170 6.3 3 6 11 13 5 3 1 0 0
YARDS GAINED BY DOWN / QUARTER / PLUS TERRITORY
1st Down------2nd Down------3rd Down------4th Down------BY QUARTER IN PLUS TERRITORY Team Plays Yards Avg. Plays Yards Avg. Plays Yards Avg. Plays Yards Avg. 1 2 3 4 Plays Yards Avg. DENVER ...... 32 169 5.3 23 95 4.1 15 60 4.0 1 0 0.0 74 90 54 106 39 100 2.6 Pittsburgh ...... 27 170 6.3 18 131 7.3 12 108 9.0 2 -13 -6.5 133 62 117 84 17 44 2.6 Overtime Yards: N/A.
KICKOFF ANALYSIS
Opp In20/ Opp. Player, Team Total Ret FC MF NA TB (EZ+) 25 OB Ons SQB Opponent SYL ASL McManus, Denver ...... 6 0 0 0 0 6 (4) 0/6 0 (0) (0) 20t20t20T20T20T20T P20 Boswell, Pittsburgh ...... 4 0 0 0 0 4 (4) 0/4 0 (0) (0) 20T20T20T20TONS D20 *—onside, squib and free kicks not included; r—returned; t—touchback; T—touchback/ball through end zone.
TEAM MISCELLANEOUS
POINTS OFF AVERAGE STARTING SECOND DOWN YDS LOST DUE AVG TO GO 3 & TIME SPENT TURNOVERS FIELD POSITION EFFICIENCY TO PENALTIES 3rd Dwn OUT IN THE LEAD Team Opp TO Pts Drives AFP In/At20 Made-Att Pct. No. Yards Avg. No. Time DENVER ...... 1 8 14 D36 5 (1/4) 5-23 21.7 1 23 7.5 2 12:59 Pittsburgh ...... 0 0 13 P20 9 (3/6) 5-18 27.8 0 0 9.4 4 43:22 AFP—Average Field Position; AT/In—Drives Started At/Inside the 20. (Tied 3:39)
INSIDE-THE-20 ANALYSIS (RED ZONE) FIRST DOWNS EARNED (Leaders)
(must have crossed the 20-yard line) Denver Pittsburgh Denver Rush Pass Rec. — Total Total Penetrations ...... 2 3 Manning ...... 0 12 0 — 12 Scores ...... 2 3 Sanders ...... 0 0 5 — 5 (TDs/FGs) ...... 1/1 1/2 Anderson ...... 4 0 0 — 4 Turnovers/Downs/Clock ...... 0/0/0 0/0/0 Thomas ...... 0 0 3 — 3 Plays-Yards ...... 8-23 6-14 Pittsburgh Rush Pass Rec. — Total Third Down Conversions ...... 1-2 0-1 Roethlisberger ...... 0 10 0 — 10 Fourth Down Conversions ...... 0-0 0-0 Bryant ...... 1 0 5 — 6 Scores From Outside RZ (TD/FG) .... 4/0,4 1/0,1 Toussant ...... 3 0 0 — 3 (does NOT include running out the clock if not attempting to score) Coates ...... 0 0 2 — 2
MISCELLANEOUS STATISTICAL NOTES Feast or Famine: Pittsburgh had 10 plays of 15 yards or longer, totaling 311 yards (37, 23, 40, 15, 58, 52, 24, 22, 18, 22); on the other 49 plays, it gained 85 yards; It had 35 additional yards on three other plays between 10 and 13; meaning its 13 double figure plays gained 346 yards, the remaining 46 netted just 50. Both teams averaged 2.6 yards per play in plus territory (Denver ran 39 plays, Pittsburgh 17). Pittsburgh led for 43:22 … all in succession from the 1:22 mark of the first quarter until 3:00 remained in the game.