Inside Slant

The Sports Xchange

November 22, 2018 at 1:34 am.

Steelers excel away from home

One of the biggest reasons the Pittsburgh Steelers won the AFC North last season and are closing in on another division title this year is their record on the road. They are 12-1-1 in road games since the beginning of the 2017 season, including a 4-0-1 mark this season.

The Steelers (7-2-1) will try to keep their winning ways intact Sunday afternoon when they visit the Denver Broncos (4-6).

The impressive road record has the Steelers in contention for the top seed in the AFC playoffs. They are currently the No. 2 seed in the AFC, behind only Kansas City (9-2). They have won six consecutive games. Only the Saints (9) and Texans (7) have won more in a row.

The Steelers have been getting strong showings from its defense during the winning streak. They have allowed 21 points or fewer in the past six games. That’s the longest such streak since the 2012 season.

The Broncos might not have a winning record, but they could be a tough matchup for the Steelers. Three of the Broncos’ six losses have been by four points or fewer. All three of those losses came against teams that are currently leading their division – the Rams, Texans and Chiefs.

“They are a 4-6 team, but they’re as battle tested as any team in the National Football League,” head coach Mike Tomlin said. “They’ve played the Chiefs twice and we know what type of run that group is on. They played the L.A. Rams. We know what type of run that group is on. They’ve played the Houston Texans recently. We know what type of run that group is on, so don’t expect them to be intimidated by our presence. I know we come into the game on a win streak and all of that, but they’ve gotten comfortable in those environments. Last week they are coming off of a game where they finally broke through and won versus a streaking team.”

The Broncos are coming off a 23-22 victory against the Los Angeles Chargers, who had a six-game winning streak of their own entering that game. The Broncos have a bend-but-don’t-break defense. They are 22nd in the NFL in yards allowed but they’re 13th in points allowed.

And the defense has showed well in matchups against some of the NFL’s top offenses this season. They allowed just 23 points to the Rams, who average 35.4 per game, and they allowed 27 and 30 to the Chiefs, who are averaging 36.7 per game.

The Broncos defense is led by linebacker Von Miller, who has 10 sacks in the first 10 games.

“Listen, no one can really block Von Miller, to tell you the truth,” Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said. “We’ll have to put a couple of guys over there. We won’t be crazy and make one guy do it.”

Tomlin got an up-close look at Miller in February when he coached him for a week at the Pro Bowl.

“This guy can decide to take over a game,” Tomlin said. “We had the honor of coaching him down at the Pro Bowl. He went by me at some point in the second half and hit me on the hip and said, ‘I got this coach.’ And he did, and we watched him take over a game among all-stars. I think that is imprinted on me and I am sure it was imprinted on the offensive coaching staff as we prepare to play him this week and the rest of the men that work with him. He’s a special player. He’s aware, he’s physically talented, he’s intelligent, he’s a scientist in his approach to his craft.”

The Steelers enter the game with the league’s fourth-best scoring offense. They average 29.9 points per game.

The Broncos have struggled some on offense this season with new quarterback Case Keenum, who signed with the Broncos after leading the Vikings to the NFC Championship Game last season.

The Broncos are averaging 22.8 points per game.

“I have a lot of respect for Keenum,” Tomlin said. “He’s a tough guy to trick. You are not going to trick him. He makes good and quick decisions. He’s highly accurate, he’s very mobile.”

SERIES HISTORY: 24th regular-season meeting. Broncos lead series, 14-8-1. The Broncos have won five of the past seven games in the series and the past three in Denver. The previous time the Steelers won in Denver was 2009. These two teams have met eight times in the playoffs, with the Broncos winning six of those matchups, including the most recent one in January of 2016, a 23-16 Broncos victory in an AFC divisional round game.