Broncos: Five Best and Most Exciting Games from 2011 Season
Denver Broncos 29 Pittsburgh Steelers 23
Yup. The Broncos lone playoff win that year. No one expected Denver to hang with the Steelers, let alone come out on top. To start the game, that looked to be true as the Steelers put up six points in the first quarter.
Then the second quarter happened.
It started with 13:11 left in the second quarter as Tim Tebow hit Eddie Royal for a 30 yard touchdown. Then after the Broncos defense forced a 3’n’out, Tebow hit Demaryius Thomas for a 58 yard pass putting them in great field position. Two players later Tebow ran in an eight yard touchdown.
Denver was not up 14-6 and everyone was shocked. Here was a team that was supposed to get stomped by the mighty Steelers scoring 14 unanswered points and taking an eight point lead after being down six. This wasn’t supposed to be what happened.
A few drives later, the Denver Broncos extended that lead by three, going up 17-6. With just over a minute left in the first half, and another field goal, Denver was up 20-6. They scored 20 unanswered points in the second quarter alone.
The Steelers entered halftime looking to try to find a way to bounce back and re-enter this game. They found a way with 4:33 left in the third quarter after a Mike Wallace touchdown reception. This brought the Steelers within seven points.
At the start of the fourth quarter, the Broncos nailed another field goal re-extending their lead 23-13. On the ensuing Steelers drive, the made a field goal to answer and go back within seven points with ten minutes left in the game.
Denver fumbled the ball, which the Steelers recovered on the next drive. This gave Pittsburgh the ball in good field position, as they started on their own 45 yard line. They only needed 55 yards to get to the endzone.
In 3 minutes and 39 seconds, the Steelers reached the endzone after a 31 yard pass play from Ben Roethlisberger. Steelers were down one pending the extra point, which was good. This tied the game with 3:56 left in the game.
Neither side managed to score or sustain a drive after that. On the final drive, the Steelers were trying by a sack by Robert Ayers ended that. This game was going to overtime, and many were in disbelief.
To start overtime the Broncos got the ball first. They went on to make history. On the first play from scrimmage, Tebow threw a short pass to Demaryius Thomas. Thomas went on to break a tackle and breakaway on his way to an 80 yard touchdwon. Denver’s exciting season continued, as did their managing to find a way to win in the end.
Next: Broncos Bold Predictions for Defense and Receivers
However, that was also the end of the Broncos season. The following week in the AFC Divisional round, the Broncos took on the New England Patriots. The stomping that many thought the Steelers would give Denver, actually came at the feet of the Patriots.