Spokesman-Review
National Football League
Pittsburgh 27, Denver 19
When: 1:00 PM ET, Sunday, October 10, 2021
Where: Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Temperature: 73°
Head Official: Brad Rogers
Attendance: 59841

Ben Roethlisberger passed for 253 yards and two touchdowns, Najee Harris rushed for 122 yards and a score and the host Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Denver Broncos 27-19 on Sunday.

Chase Claypool had five catches for 130 yards and a touchdown and Diontae Johnson had 72 yards receiving and a TD for the Steelers (2-3). Harris rushed 23 times and Roethlisberger completed 15 of 25 passes.

Teddy Bridgewater was 24-of-38 passing for 288 yards and two touchdowns and Courtland Sutton had seven receptions for 120 yards and a score for Denver (3-2).

The Broncos trailed by 18 entering the fourth but nearly rallied. Denver drove to the Pittsburgh 3 with 22 seconds left but Bridgewater was intercepted on fourth down.

The Steelers took the opening drive of the game 85 yards in six plays, capped by Roethlisberger's 50-yard pass to Johnson that made it 7-0.

Pittsburgh was driving again late in the first when the Broncos recovered a fumble near midfield. Denver managed just 8 yards but cashed in on a 39-yard Brandon McManus field goal.

The Steelers answered with a 48-yard field goal by Chris Boswell early in the second quarter, and after the teams traded punts, McManus finished a seven-play drive with a 29-yard field goal to make it 10-6.

Pittsburgh drove down to the Broncos' goal line, aided by a pass interference call on Denver. Harris scored on a leap from the 1-yard line that put the Steelers ahead 17-6 at halftime.

Pittsburgh kicked a field goal on its first drive of the third quarter, but a Broncos penalty kept the drive alive, and Roethlisberger connected with Claypool from 18 yards out to make it 24-6.

Denver finally got its offense going in the fourth quarter. The Broncos converted two fourth downs, the second one on Bridgewater's 2-yard TD pass to Kendall Hinton to cut the deficit to 24-13 with 10:15 left.

After forcing a punt, Denver drove again, with Bridgewater firing a 39-yard touchdown pass to Sutton. The two-point conversion failed, leaving the Steelers up 24-19.

Pittsburgh answered with a 43-yard field goal by Boswell to make it an eight-point game.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
Rushing
Denver   Pittsburgh
Javonte Williams Player Najee Harris
8 Attempts 23
61 Yards 122
7.6 Avg Yards 5.3
0 Touchdowns 1
49 Long 20
Receiving
Denver   Pittsburgh
Courtland Sutton Player Chase Claypool
7 Receptions 5
120 Yards 130
17.1 Avg Yards 26.0
1 Touchdowns 1
39 Long 59
Team Stats Summary
 
  Yards Scoring Defense
Team Tot Rus Pas TD FG INT Sck FF
Denver 374 106 268 2 2 0 1.0 1
Pittsburgh 391 147 244 3 2 1 2.0 0
Upcoming Games
  • Pittsburgh will play their next game at home against Seattle. The Steelers have a W/L % of .000 after a win and .500 after a loss.
  • Denver will play their next game at home against Las Vegas. The Broncos have a W/L % of .750 after a win and .000 after a loss.