1989 Week 9 - Pittsburgh at Denver

nbc sports presents the national football league today it's the pittsburgh steelers versus the denver broncos it is the usual sellout crowd 76 000 mile high stadium in denver on a beautiful 50. [Applause] while on the afc central it is a critical game for pittsburgh hoping to remain in the hunt going into today the steelers one of ten teams to have a record of four and four hi everybody marv albert with bob trumpy the steelers won the toss they are receiving rod woodson on the return getting across the 20-yard line and we apologize for the audio problems right at the start and i'm told we are okay relatively speaking as we check out the pittsburgh offensive line with john jackson john reinstruct bermonte dawson brian blankenship and trench ilkin a line that has been shuffled right throughout bobby brister at quarterback and a look in the passing situation as merrell hodge is stopped by the right inside linebacker carl mecklenburg now look at the steelers out of the shotgun and defensively the denver broncos who have been outstanding even surprising the coaching staff with carrick regan and townsend up front will run it down completely as the rookie tim wurley is stopped by rick dennison jim worley making his return he sat out last week because of a back problem greg kragen is back at nose tackle made his return last week after sitting out because of a knee injury and in passing situations this the alignment used by the broncos ron holmes coming off a two-sack day last week comes on with haynes robbins and carrington it's a third down and three at the 30 the broncos the secondary has been outstanding led by dennis smith who is having himself an all-pro season just underway at mile high and brister from the shotgun in trouble able to complete for the first down mark haynes on the coverage of louis lips who last week against kansas city had a terrific day with seven receptions two for touchdowns that time steve atwater the free safety for the denver broncos came on the blitz you'll see him on the left kind of picked up by merrell hodge but bubby does a great job of getting away and the throw out the lips it does not appear that he gets the second foot down now of course that's always reviewable on the sideline but lips has been the brister's favorite receiver when both are healthy i would not be a bit surprised if we have a stoppage here and they do review that catch on the sideline right now the indication is that it was short of the first down of that he did not get the two feet in and that play will hold so a punting situation and vance johnson is back to receive the part from harry newsom dan reeves making changes in his uh punt formation alignment here's johnson nice cut he's going to chance loosen us back and punter newsom falling down johnson a 53-yard plot a 33-yard return ken bell had been the denver punt receiver relieved of his duties after several adventures and muffs and that's harry newsom shaken up as he was able to get the grips on vance johnson he reverses his field here now of course ken bell could not hang on to the ball at all so dan reeves has to go to one of his starting receivers as the punt returner newsom makes the hit here he is the last person to possibly stop him and i think newsom when he was lying on the ground as the trainer approached him he said it was his shoulder this is a very very nice job you know johnson has not returned a lot of punts for the denver broncos since he's been here but that's a very impressive start and has to be a very encouraging sign for dan reeves now see they're looking at his shoulder it looked like when he reached out to stop johnson on the return he landed on his armpit one of the worst things you can do as an athlete now watch his right when he begins to fall his arm is completely extended and he falls right on his armpit and that smarts but he's the punter so if his leg is all right i'm sure they feel he can play the rest of the game that in fact was the first punt return of the season for vance johnson dan reeves just wants johnson to field the punts nothing fancy it's been almost two years since johnson have returned a punt but a 33-yard return may they'll take it and denver needs denver needs some help in the first part of the game because they've been shut out in the first quarter the last five games they've played as we look at the denver offensive alignment jeff alexander back sat out last week with a sprained ankle first down from midfield and elway with the short pop he has bobby humphrey david little and the rookie jerry olsofsky combined to make the stop back to the denver offensive set in passing situations humphrey alexander and kay depart sammy weiner comes out with michael young who's gone well the last couple of weeks and steve sewell a second down and three as sewell flanks to the right side and jackson to the left [Music] and it's humphrey took a big hit picked up the first down greg lloyd the outside linebacker made the stop on bobby humphrey and we'd like to welcome those of you who have been watching the seattle seahawks and the kansas city chiefs kansas city bouncing back from the loss to the pittsburgh steelers last sunday by coming up with the win we are scoreless here in denver marv albert along with bob trumpy first down at the 36 for john elway and his broncos and the sideline pass is caught by seoul strong safety carnell lake the rookie from ucla making the stop now mark you can see what denver is attempting to do here with alignment they have steve sewell flanked out as a wide receiver and they're getting the strong safety carnell lake in coverage now cornell lake is an excellent defensive back but converted from linebacker last year at ucla to strong safety pittsburgh doesn't want their strong safety out there exposed and again now far side of the field you have sewell against it's not lake this time this time it's dwayne woodruff the corner on the running back and a second down and two humphrey is stopped stacked up by the inside linebacker david little and the steeler uh front seven willis williams tim johnson making his return bothered by a sprained ankle rookie jerry olsofsky starting at the right inside linebacker position the 10th round draft pick out of the university of pittsburgh and when they go to the passing situation the dime this the alignment williams hall and griffin coming on on the regular secondary they played well woodruff woodson at the corners lake and everett the safety men third down and one at the 27. and humphrey picking his way for the first down little and everett combined good block by the tight end clarence k so the denver broncos with a good looking drive here in the first quarter fourth quarter cleveland in a shootout leading tampa bay houston and detroit have been going in a roller coaster game buffalo with jim kelly making his return miami defeats indianapolis and new england has moved in front of the jets 26-24 green bay by one over chicago first down at the 24. and it's humphrey again but this time he's hit back at the line that was diagnosed by the outside linebacker greg lloyd so far in this first series as you look at the final two scores we have there we gave you the kansas city final and rams in minnesota now tied so far you've seen a lot of different looks from the denver broncos to begin with a lot of different formations a couple of draws they throw the ball to sew out in a flat that's something that pittsburgh will have to deal with all day long and reeves likes that multiple look offense now mel breton has joined bobby humphrey in the backfield second out at eight at the 22 movement on both sides humphrey fighting the hole and he's in for the touchdown it appeared that there was defensive contact at the line of scrimmage gerald williams the nose tackle appear to jump prematurely [Applause] that's the score the indication from the referee rhett kasha so denver getting off to the bad start last week against philadelphia turning it around here at the start against pittsburgh good lead block by bratton he gets the linebacker on the ground and then something happens to the rest of the defense because there's no one there and bobby humphrey's number was called on six of the seven play drive capping it with a 22-yard run for the touchdown david treadwell will try and tack on the extra point and does so the broncos in front of the steelers by the score of seven to nothing denver comes in at six and two they lost to the eagles last week 28-24 wins over kansas city buffalo raiders san diego indianapolis and seattle they lost at cleveland by three of that controversial finish which involved the dog pound and last week the loss to the philadelphia eagles that marv that's an important score for denver psychologically the last five games have been shut out 34 to nothing in the first quarter and of course then you put more pressure on the offensive line of the denver broncos to protect john elway and that is the so far this season been the weakest part of this football team the fast protection for john elway so reeves has to be pleased david treadwell will kick it off rod woodson is the deep man for pittsburgh yeah the fans here in mile high stadium not cheering a great deal i think they probably overdid themselves yesterday rooting for the colorado buffalos over nebraska i mean they are worn out sitting here today you know that as the colorado buffaloes were able to make it two wins within eight days over nebraska and oklahoma good kick by treadwell and woodson has to stay right there and that that that kicked off by treadwell deep into the end zone and they'll bring it out to the 20-yard line so the pittsburgh steelers go back to the offense talking with bobby brester last night he told us he keeps telling himself he has to be patient against the denver zone and looks to use more uh pump fakes than he normally would and we'll try to look people off more than he usually does but he goes to the ground for whirling tim worley who's had a frustrating injury hit rookie season in college worley was really hurt yeah also never really coughed up the football at george either but chuck knows comment last night to us shocked me he said this is the first full week of practice that whirly has had since we got it and he said we're not sure what this kid can do but we're going to find out and one thing i notice already pittsburgh has generally been a sideline to sideline trapping team with whirly in there being eye back out of georgia they're going right straight at denver a lot more and brister with a second out and five dropped by hodge covered by braxton noel also said that he was amazed by bobby brister's performance last week against kansas city after he had sat out with a sprained knee chuck felt that bubby would show some rust but that not the case 17 for 27 253 yards two touchdowns yeah offensive coordinator tom moore told me this morning too as they were about to get on the bus he said i expect him to be rusty because what he did last week he did on one leg he's got that big knee brace on the left leg they don't want him running a lot they don't want people all over him he is certainly their franchise it's a third down and five are you now saying goodbye to the players as they depart from the hotel on the bus stop hanging around and bristol's pass is broken up wyman henderson on the coverage of ouija thompson to get a piece of it bobby you have to complete a pass in the first two drives here now by pittsburgh there's a flag also on the field you can see the knee brace on bubby's left knee good delivery but we've got holding against pittsburgh the penalty will be declined so pittsburgh twice goes three downs and out and harry newsom who took that shot to his shoulder apparently all right back to punt at his 10 53 otter for newsome in his first punt attempt and once again vance johnson is back he had that good return and again a nice punt good choice yes call by johnson dan reeves was saying that he just wants a short-handed situation back there of course he thought he had that with the ken bell but that that turned out not to be the case the last few weeks a 47-yard punt by newsom so denver first down at the 29-yard line those of you who are checking out nfl live and certainly those of the denver area are aware of the john elway circumstances revolving around some of the coverage in denver media and the article of this week's sports illustrated where john has said he feels suffocated by the media here in denver objecting to the public examination of his private life elway throwing first down throwing deep pursuit he's done it is a 56-yard pass to sewell who beat the rookie strong safety carnell lake taking advantage of the alignment sulligan the running back is out there on a strong safety that's what they're looking for they set it up in the first series throw him a hitch then he runs the hitch and go 56-yard gain denver's found a weak spot now and denver first down at the pittsburgh 15 elway three for three 71 yards off the play action a beautiful fake but the elway saw the field closed as he tried to go wide and was pinched out of bounds brian hinkle on the coverage elway also questioned what he feels has been negative coverage of a team that has a record of six and two he says when you lose you expect tough questions but not when you win well on that last play the rollout you could see exactly what he was trying to get to clarence k he's right here elway's going to roll this way but there's excellent coverage here and here and there's no place for john elway to throw the ball he's passed off and you see thomas everett right there with clarence case we always got to run it second at eight at the 13 double tight ends for the broncos kate and mobley are in there and the handoff to humphrey as david little was able to have that one figured out was uh right there some extra curricular action bob getting back to the subject of john elway and the controversy this week the other school of thought is that elway is a a public figure making a great deal of money because of public interest in what he does own television show featured in a number of commercials he's received enormous radio and television exposure so uh the other point of view is that you have to expect scrutinization but the question is where should it stop well i think the point should be made too that john elway has complained this week for the first time in seven years he is royalty in this town and i think he has to uh at least accept some of that all right third and nine penalty markers down elway throwing one away that's on the defense always pass mark jackson was in the area covered by thomas everett it is a 7-0 denver lead denver on the move once again and once again the call against the steelers john elway is very very good at that hard count number 95 on the defense he bobs his head and of course when he's back in the shot shotgun is allowed from behind the quarterback you see elway moves his hands and greg lloyd 95 who's supposed to be watching the football is watching john l wayne he's drawn off sides recall earlier this season against san diego elway drew the chargers offside six times by changing the inflection of his voice during the snap count he has been very effective with that technique third down and four at the nine four white outs with for denver and he threw it slightly behind steve sewell coverage was gerald williams this young man they use in about 12 different ways watch 91 go out of your picture he's got sewell sewell runs a little circle route elway pumps and then throws behind him it looks to me like he might have been able to get the end zone if john elway can get it to him and now david treadwell checks in he is the man who replaced rich carlos and has had a terrific season however today rich carlos of minnesota has kicked at last count six field goals although he was only six for 15 uh going in and he did make it seven and that ties a record meanwhile treadwell puts it through a 26-yard field goal for david treadwell and denver with a 10-nothing lead on pittsburgh with 6 51 remaining in the first quarter and we'd like to welcome those of you who have been watching the jets and the patriots up in foxborough with the jets coming back to beat new england for only their second victory this season new england coming off the overtime win against indianapolis last week the most remarkable story about that game mark wilson throws a touchdown for the new england patriots that's four quarterbacks who have thrown touchdowns for new england and none of them have been out of the game because of injury another final miami beats indianapolis green bay knocking off chicago so the bear troubles continue and minnesota does beat the rams 23-21 and carlos with seven field goals ties the record of jim bakken seven field goals in one game is that 23-21 they they win with a safety in overtime did i see this book correct correct now the kickoff returned by woodson woodson gets it out to the 24-yard line bruce klosterman back at linebacker on the stop yes the seventh field goal by carlos from 40 yards away tied the game at 21 with 11 seconds remaining in regulation and minnesota in a most unusual final score does it 23-21 in overtime wow wow pittsburgh here in the first part of this first quarter has gotten nothing zero they have to establish something here or denver's going to run away with this football game in a hurry and it's a first down at the 24 for bobby brisker big rush by denver that was intended for lewis lips who is covered by the left corner tyrone braxton bobby's gotta hurry here the broncos are getting a bunch of guys at the line of scrimmage what the broncos are trying to do is they are daring the pittsburgh steelers to throw the ball look at all the people they have right up at the line of scrimmage there mark they've got about eight guys up at the line of scrimmage and they're telling bobby brister go ahead try to run it they're making them throw fletcher almost makes the sack there and off the second and ten tim worley stopped by carl mecklenburg bobby brister now oh for four whirly inactive last week because of a back problem he's had a number of injuries this past week the first full week of practice that worley had since reporting to the steelers he was a hold out and that did not help his situation turf toe he had an infected elbow and then back spasms or a back strain and barb as you said earlier he was a real workhorse for georgia didn't miss any games at all he did pick up nine it's a third and one at the 33. rick dennison he applied the hit [Applause] this is an offense that under chuck know historically has been a great running football team but they come into the ball game with just a 3.2 yard average for rush which is the worst in the league and wade phillips defense look at denison oh what a stick nice job he gets the most of the credit but the pittsburgh offensive line did not move the denver defensive line an inch same story three plays and a punt and here is newsom who has putted well that has been the only positive thus far for the steelers another good one vance johnson on to the turn so johnson gets across the 25 david little flying the hit 46 yard punt five yard return it's a ten nothing denver lead 506 to go in the first welcome back to mile high stadium in denver the broncos over the steelers 10 nothing with 506 to go in this first quarter last season when these two clubs met in pittsburgh the steelers won 39-21 that snapped the six-game losing streak pittsburgh going crazy that day with trump plays no huddle uh reverses by lewis lips also back past to surprise the broncos also rushed for 256 yards and a one in six football team beat the denver broncos and imagine chuck noll would like to see a repeat performance of that today but denver firmly in control at this point and the broncos start out from their 26 elway three out of four 71 yards off the roll couldn't find anyone and down he goes david little will get credit so elway losing several yards on the play set for an update let's go to bob costas and nfl live okay marv over time on the metrodome dale hatcher to punt for the rams mike merriweather breaks through he blocks it for the vikings he's discouraged that he doesn't recover for the fumble but it's really a moot point out of the end zone for a safety and on seven rich carlos field goals and regulation and the safety in overtime minnesota hands the rams their fourth straight loss 23-21 mark all right bob what a wild finish mike merriweather of course the one-time pittsburgh steeler here is humphrey trying to cut back in and he has stopped at the 17 by greg lloyd and brian hickle the outside linebackers getting to the running back bobby humphrey that last pass attempt by john elway where you saw him take the sack that's the influence of mike shanahan before shanahan got here john elway was encouraged to try to make the play at the end of the play here you see him roll out there is no one to throw to and as opposed to throwing the ball down the field just throwing it away he takes the sack that is directly from mike shanahan and now elway looking at a third down at 20. he does have the four white house elway with the time and able to complete to ricky mcteal for his first catch of the season rookie luteal back from injured reserve out with a knee problem on a 38-yard connection delton hall was the man in coverage four wide receivers by denver excellent pass protection up front elway had all kinds of time and again an influence of mike shanahan watch him step up step up step up he's looking he's looking guns it out there natio had that crack kneecap first catch of the season wow that was third and 20 and pittsburgh allows that conversion that will not make defensive coaches and chuck noll happy on the steelers sideline a first down at the 46 and elway with the short pop has humphrey breaks a tackle and has the first down woodson and woodruff with the tackle of humphrey barb this is going back to the alignment of the denver broncos they are continuing to use steve sewell as a wide receiver they are keeping the strong safety out of any part of the defensive play that time humphrey just runs the little circle pattern across the defensive line of scrimmage and is wide open and it's all set up by sewell being that wide receiver now johnson is to the left jackson wright sewell in motion goes incomplete penalty flag is thrown as johnson was hit from behind by woodson play is to the left johnson runs the square in woodson an excellent man in coverage there's been a lot of flags thrown in this defensive backfield for pittsburgh throughout the 89 season and frankly some of their coaches believe that it's just a they're being a little too picky on this past interference this kid is an extraordinary player in the nfl great recovery time good man on man coverage great kickoff and punt returner when he wants to be world class speed he's a cornerstone of that defense for a number of years for pittsburgh and he has made it back from a dislocated shoulder however he has called for the past interference establishing a first down at the pittsburgh 29 denver 10 and pittsburgh nothing humphrey following the block gets to the 24. doug weidel the right guard the rookie from boston college leading humphrey and we'd like to welcome those of you who have been watching buffalo and atlanta and atlanta with a come from behind win over buffalo with jim kelly making his return the bills were 3-0 under the backup frank reich what is going on in the nfl today there have been some strange happenings already clarence k just came off looked like he sprained a knee or something it's orson mobley cat kelly at tight in now for denver second and four down at the steeler 23 jackson in motion and the handoff to humphrey and picks up short yardage greg lloyd on the tackle now a swing around the nfl these are final scores cleveland knocking off tampa bay and a shootout between cozar and tessa verdi houston leading detroit in the fourth atlanta as we just mentioned knocking off buffalo miami beats indianapolis the jets come from behind and green bay over chicago four straight losses for the bears overtime minnesota beats the rams kansas city over seattle raiders out to a 14-nothing lead boat jackson with a 92-yard run bobby humphrey and a little swing out taking place with a flag sent flying pat kelly a back up tight end for denver involved with linebacker greg lloyd there's kelly second-year man from syracuse goes 6-6 252. on pittsburgh normally they get the guy who fires back and it appears to be greg lloyd apparently the officials did not see kelly get involved that's why the season's gone for the pittsburgh steelers they always seem to get the other guy the flags are always on pittsburgh so it is being marked off and denver will have a first and goal when the ball is spotted off to a a 10-0 lead on the 26-yard field goal by treadwell at a 22-yard run for a touchdown by humphrey john elway on fire here at the start that's the eighth play of the drive it's a first and goal from the eighth humphrey look at that push getting inside the five they steal a linebacker hinkle little olsefsky and lloyd all involved to stop humphrey bobby humphrey denver's first pick in the supplemental draft out of alabama look at this push up front by the offensive line of the denver broncos i mean humphrey is almost five yards down the field before anybody makes contact with him as the first quarter ends clock running down when we resume in the second quarter it will be denver ball second and goal from inside the five with the broncos leading the steelers by the score of 10 to nothing we'll be back here in denver right after these words this is bob costas in new york a couple of years ago at the kingdom in seattle bo jackson set a raider record by going 91 yards from scrimmage he does himself one better here against the bengals this one covers 92 officially the raiders lead cincy 14 nothing early in the second quarter to make matters worse boomer osias in a bruised right shoulder not his throwing shoulder but nonetheless out of the game for the moment back to mile high stadium [Music] thank you bob well boomer coming off the five touchdown game last weekend that cincinnati wipeout over at tampa bay meanwhile here in denver as we get underway in the second quarter it's all broncos with a 10-nothing lead and the nine first downs to nothing steelers have gone three downs and out four different times last night we're chatting with pittsburgh defensive coordinator rod rust and he told us that the steelers main failure defensively has been coming up with the big plays he said there simply hasn't been any defensively they need one here a second and goal from inside the five denver looking for another score in elway he was heading for jackson a play action fake and turn around and elway is looking right into the sun there and i'm not sure he even saw any of that that thing was going through arms and fingers and hands it's going to be coming right at us and he is looking right into the sun little slant jackson is the guy running the slant going way out in front of him but that may be more the sun than anything else elway now five for seven as you see 122 yards 10th play of this drive four wide receivers for denver and elway with the time couldn't decide what to do and then took a pump as he's intercepted on the intercept and elway is hurt he got hammered he could not decide first he thought he had a receiver then he thought he might run and it cost plenty of time for him to throw but when he comes out to the side he's really off balance it looks like gerald williams hits him and also gerald williams no way still down after throwing the interception all right we'll take a break back in denver in a moment [Music] elway is up he's okay he got kind of sandwiched gerald williams the nose tackle hitting from behind and gerald williams 91 the linebacker hit him from the front but he looks like he's all right rod woodson with his second interception of the season picked one off against kansas city last week so pittsburgh first down from the 20. willie trapped behind the line then broke a tackle and is stopped for a loss but a penalty flag is down the nose tackle rick kraken on the stop of tim worley this is on malarkey the tight end move prematurely that's the 12th interception that john elway has thrown so far this season and the report on john elway is that he just had the wind knocked out it looked much worse when he took that hit but apparently is okay mike malarkey in the starting lineup today he's been inactive uh last week with a knee injury and through the start instead of terry o'shea who was the starter last week on the play action worcester able to complete too early flagged down again and another flag is thrown as whirly bulls his way to the 27 short of the first down henderson and mecklenburg on the stop looked like there was an offensive lineman downfield was there our penalty mark downfield so that's an expensive one so far nothing has gone right for chuck noll they set up the screen beautifully andre townsend gets a lot of pressure on bobby brister you see 61. you already have an offensive lineman terry long he's way down field so cost you five yards and nothing is working for pittsburgh except for that interception by rod woodson there's terry long back in the lineup despite a sprained ankle although brian blankenship did start the game it is a first and 23 back at the seven and brisker another screen did not work intended for hodge good rush by simon fletcher and andre townsend so bubby brister off to an 0 for 5 start still lifting from a a sprained knee he told us last night his left shoulder also occasionally acting up but he is having difficulty getting things going you can see the pressure the denver broncos defense is putting on brister he's not got much time to throw 73 fletcher 92 is carrick netball overthrown to merrell hodge 33 they tried two steam screens in a row and neither works second at 23 from the seven and whirley to the outside strip recovered by denver penalty marker has been thrown as it is one in that is alfonso carricker but a flag is down dennis smith was the man on the tackle it was right at the spot of the tackle pittsburgh steeler fans will recall that opening game for tim worley against the cleveland browns where he fumbled three times the first nine carries you know a face mask against the defense but is it before the turnover or after let's see what they're going to call i think they're going to call before the turnover dennis smith had to hold a hold of whirly's face mask so the fumble is wiped out facebook's filed number 34 on the defense before the ball was fumbled they got the wrong guy they called 34 but it's dennis smith 49. so it wipes out the turnover pittsburgh gets very is very fortunate there and the drive stays alive because it's also a first down so subtract the fumble from tim worley's record and we mentioned that in college he had hardly ever been injured he had a knee problem at one time but he was not known as a fumbler uh during his years at the university of georgia but has certainly had his problems second out and ten at the 20. short set for brister and he has a completion with whirly but short of the first down michael brooks was right there with tim worley pittsburgh is searching here they are trying to find something you saw tom moore worley walked right behind me tom moore the offensive coordinator of pittsburgh is trying to find something here that works against this defense there's tom moore he's that time he ran a little motion to try to loosen up the defense i mean this is the problem you have when you play denver or a team when things aren't going your way you go to plan b you try to find something that works third down four from the 26 brisker with his first completion he now has lips to the right side now look there's seven guys at eight guys at the line of scrimmage there for denver marv rush gets it away and has hodge first down and some more and brister is hurt a 22-yard pass play and brister who is a very tough competitor took a shot you can see atwater coming again on the safety blitz that's the second time he's been in there and this is the first time he's gotten bubby brister you can see meryl hodges the receiver goes right through here and that water almost makes the sack but that's a gutty completion by bubby brister for pittsburgh's first first down of the ball game and they have it out at the 48 two minutes have gone by in the second quarter and brister throwing for lips lips could not get to it tyrone braxton was covering on the play lewis lips last week against the chiefs had a terrific day seven receptions 130 yards two for touchdowns one on a a 64-yard play this is a deep slant you see bubby going back there setting up one two three four five throw and just overthrew lewis lips a little bit he's got to catch fire here in the second quarter bubby does have a strong arm in fact he had put the bomb back in the in the steeler game plan second down and 10. and hodge on the attempted draw was stopped by fragan well there's not a lot working here marv this is a sprint draw attempt by the pittsburgh steelers you see 71 the nose tackle they have a game on up front he takes one side of germany johnson the center and that's the side where the draw is supposed to go he's there to make the tackle it sets it back to a third down and 12 greg kragen had been out with a knee injury missed a couple of games made his return last week against the eagles that sent andre townsend who had been filling in at the nose tackle back to the right side now marv again look you got nine guys at the line of scrimmage for denver they are daring pittsburgh to run the ball and christopher looking to throw and gets it away incomplete intended for rodney carter downfield and again we will see harry newsom and the punting unit check in well they finally get their first first down but there's tom horn bobby brister and so far the denver john elway talked this week about the press suffocating his life in denver well pittsburgh's got to know how john elway feels because the denver defense is suffocating pittsburgh at this point for newsome his fourth punt he is back at the 30 and vance johnson awaits the punt so a fair catch for johnson inside the 15-yard line at a 42-yard pod by newsome they mark it at the 13. we'll be back in a moment [Applause] welcome back to mile high stadium denver colorado with bob trumpy i'm marv albert a 10-nothing denver lead over pittsburgh three minutes have gone by in the second quarter and denver first down from the 13. elway to the ground and a check around the scoreboard these are the late games the raiders led by bo jackson with a 14-nothing lead but with a 92-yard run for a touchdown to make it 14-0 san diego in front of philadelphia the giants over phoenix giants looking to make it four straight wins record of and 7-1 humphrey picked up six a second out and four at the 19. elway again got the time and it's picked off brian hinkle on the interception second time this first half that elway has been intercepted and he's hearing it now from the crowd this pass is intended for the tight end pat kelly they run sewell again out in the flat here's pat kelly you see he comes right down here but elway is expecting him to stay here he floats out and hinkle makes the interception this is hinkle is on him 53 now watch what kelly does he goes out elway's expecting him to keep on going down the field and he throws the interception 13th of the season second today it has not been a standout season for john elway as he will admit but those who support elway say well they've had problems with the offensive line elway has been injured the game plan has changed merrell hodge is stopped carl mecklenburg making the stop no gain on the play it's a second and ten at the 22 well those of you who may have seen nfl live prior to our telecast saw some news making developments rick riley the sports illustrated writer talked about john elway's complaints concerning the media here's brister able to complete to hodge short of the first down michael brooks running him out of bounds john riggins on nfl live discussing the washington redskins of their problems saying that the redskins just not a very good football team and bobby beathard in the insider section making the point that the bills actually would rather have sheen conlon back than jim kelly not that they have a choice and as it turned out uh kelly made his return and the bills lost after going three for three under frank wright i don't know if that proves anything but shane conlon is certainly a viable member of the defensive four third out of three at the 15. that's carter in motion carter worcester throws has caught her and let's see where they will spot it it is a touchdown near side of the shoreline it is a touchdown for pittsburgh some of the steelers were uncertain tyrone braxton trying to cover rodney cotter and so off the two interceptions by elway the steelers have hung in carter was the man in motion tyrone braxton the man in coverage good move by carter gets up underneath the coverage hey you see the man in motion little juke gets by him brister has time 15 yard completion and a score for pittsburgh and now the extra point gary anderson among the nfl's best makes it 12-12 on the season and with 10 23 to go in this second quarter broncos now lead the steelers by the score of winning it's something you can see the brisker filling a bit the connor 15-yard touchdown for carter his fourth touchdown of the season and it closes to a 10-7 denver league and one of the up men takes the kickoff and makes the return it is bell brenton off that bouncy kick anderson slipped when he went to kick that ball almost fell down before he got to the football so the denver broncos back to the offense starting out at their third watch what happens to gary anderson on the kickoff just when he plants his foot against the slide goes right to mel breton this is the stuff the triple plays are made out of you know but denver starts with great field position at their own 39. they'll take it and there is gary anderson in his eighth season out of syracuse denver first down at the 39 john elway has been picked off twice five for nine overall 122 yards long count does not get much gerald williams the nose tackle was right there reminder coming up tonight on the magical world of disney it'll be earnest goes to camp followed by a couple of new episodes of the family comedies sister kate and i two dads and then the world premiere of cross of fire it's based on the true story of the rise and fall of the ku klux klan in the midwest during the 20s fascinating story that's had excellent reviews that's tonight here on nbc second down and six elway getting the time again and short of the first down on the completion to mark jackson and a flag has been tossed that's holding against denver [Music] it certainly appears that denver is giving elway plenty of time to throw there's good pass protection up front and maybe because it's holding the real veteran on the offensive line you'll see him on keith willis 93. he's got a handful of jersey and he also has his arm across his chest [Music] so it ends up being second down and 16 now this is dan reeves this is when quarterbacks like coaches to call the plays you call him at second and 16 coach back at the 33 elway checks it over and flags thrown elway trying to get the uh the movement off the caves took a a playful tap from left defensive end keith willis that's like him in very very late they're trying to decide is this on the offense of the defense yeah that was very late they've already drawn pittsburgh off twice so we repeat the same down no flag slipped out of somebody's pocket it is a do-over second and sixteen at the 33. do-over i like that offensive lineman jim juriga that's something wrong with this helmet that's something you want to fix in this game humphrey balloon d back kelly 87 in motion elway looking for humphrey then changed his mind elway on the run he was right at the first down marker oh he they had him nine ways to sunday there when elway began to scramble the cornerback comes up watch over on the right actually i think it's lloyd that comes up when elway begins to scramble and humphrey is wide open out there in the flat now rod russ the defensive court yes lloyd rod rush the defensive coordinator told us last night every time john elway goes back to pass it's two plays in one it's the timing of the pass and then it's the scramble and that's the problem of playing john elway in the denver broncos third down and 16. at the 33 elway in the second quarter all for four and the two interceptions johnson deep and he has him a beautiful catch as he contested with rod woodson denver converted a third and 20 in the first quarter and now they convert a big third down again great protection you see johnson right there at the line of scrimmage man-to-man coverage elway waits has plenty of time this is a an all-pro catch by vance johnson that is outstanding vance johnson coming off a career day with seven catches last week against the eagles 37-yard pickup on that play and humphrey is hit down caught on the backfield by keith willis there is willis back from a a neck injury that forced him out last year seventh year out of northeast and at 6-1 one of the smaller defensive ends in the nfl but makes up for that with exceptional leverage now 21-0 raiders blowing out the bengals bob costas telling us earlier that boomer osiason was shaken up san diego in front giants leading phoenix giants wiping out phoenix in that earlier meeting at the new jersey meadowlands second down at 14 at the 34. elway with that short drop looked like he was uh going to scramble and then was hit by brian hinkle that didn't work that was a design quarterback draw that did not work at all did not trick pittsburgh whatsoever brian hinkle stayed at home he has no place to run 92 olsovsky also on the helping tackle for an assist and now denver goes with four wide receivers and they've had a lot of third down and long yardages but they've converted this one's third and fourteen mark and the teal is to the left to the right in motion after stepping up threw it through a crowd again almost intercepted by woodson griffin got a piece of it and elway throwing right into coverage looking for young he didn't see woodson at all woods is kind of back there playing center field you seem on the underneath help he's looking at elway elway is telegraphing where it's going when michael young goes outside almost makes the pick it's larry griffin 22 on the inside and they're going for it on fourth down no no this is a fake punt we saw john elway do this on friday i bet he punts yes he does that doesn't work it does carry in he was hoping to get the hop inside the five it goes down as a 34 yarder and the steelers were not exactly baffled by that by that play we'll be back in a moment now watch the front formation normally goes back in the shotgun this almost works but aj jenkins number 99 gets a free shot on john elway and he takes it that almost worked vance johnson very close to downing this ball but just rolls in the end zone so touch back pittsburgh's ball first down at the 20 for bobby brister following that punt by john elway his first of the season christopher on the on the screen but it's a loss with mecklenburg right on the scene that's the third screen they've tried simon fletcher with good pressure on bobby brister and mecklenburg is not fooled a bit from behind the offense see mecklenburg reads this perfectly floats right out there in front of jackson john jackson 65 the offensive tackle that's a great concession on the part of pittsburgh you know they're going to the screen a lot here this is not bread and butter for pittsburgh nice tackle by mecklenburg for a loss loss of two second and 11 at the 19. now hodge on the ground going wide and he runs it out at the 26 yard line atwater and henderson running him out of bounds a look around the nfl final scores cleveland on three touchdowns thrown by bernie kozar houston knocking off detroit atlanta over buffalo miami with the victory the jets winning for only the second time this season green bay by one over chicago bears have lost four in a row in overtime minnesota 23-21 rich carlos record with seven field goals raiders getting big over cincinnati san diego in front and so are the giants third down and four albrester with protection and able to complete for the first down to the rookie derrick hill hill making his first nfl start a third round draft pick out of the university of arizona tackled by randy robbins again good pass protection by the pittsburgh offensive line brister the thing he does here is watch how he keeps his feet moving see they never stop keeps his feet moving now he's always ready to throw it he zings it in there low and hill makes a tough catch braxton on the coverage watch his feet watch his feet that's the secret to that completion first down at the 34. hodge and whirly in the running backs it is whirling cutting inside and just a couple dennis smith the strong safety along with mark munford making the stop mark bunford out of nebraska grew up in denver but attended university in nebraska did not enjoy yesterday's cornhusker loss to colorado there's mumford number 51. he had the guts to wear red yesterday so he did and he did proudly if pittsburgh is having a problem it's on first down they've had nine first down plays in his first half only four times if they gained yardage second down and eight brister with the bullet and has the first down with the tight end mike malarkey mecklenburg and munford combined on the stop so brister beginning to get things done after that difficult start two interceptions by elway keeping the steelers in the ball game it's a 10-7 denver lead with three and a half remaining second quarter they're really going with the short stuff too very very short sometimes eight nine yards deep only [Applause] lewis lips who to this point is not caught of all is flanked for the right side back to the ground hodge bumble the broncos indicating they have it will wait townsend has it 61. no yes finally an indication from the officials andre townsend comes up with it andre townsend a man who has forced two fumbles now recovers one short trap run by the pittsburgh steelers you see long 74 coming up through there it looks like townsend makes the contact you can see the ball is loose at his feet and townsend pounds on that ball right between hodges legs hodge knows the ball is loose looked like munford and andre tossen made the hit first turnover the day for pittsburgh denver back on the offense marvin looks like the guy who is going to make the real hit is brooks he comes over here and reads this run by merrell hodge and knocks the ball loose townsend also on the assist but watch the great job of pursuit by brooks bam the hit by the arm and the ball comes loose thousand recovers there's michael brooks very physical player who likes the broncos defensive style dan reeve said he likes brooks because it it makes the denver bronco defense very difficult to run at the corner you've got simon fletcher on at one outside and brooks on the other as you can see this is something that pittsburgh has had problem with not just this year but last year they had 40 fumbles to lead the nfl they only lost 13. but they are topping the ball up with great regularity and that began opening day against cleveland when they were pounded by the browns 51 nothing with whirly losing three fumbles first nine times he carried the ball second week of the season pittsburgh blasted by cincinnati 41-0 but they have turned around they have won four of the last six but now four and four but it is back to the offense for denver from the 47 humphrey so bobby humphrey gets inside the 45 greg lloyd david little making the stop just under three minutes to go in this first half a reminder to our viewers we'll be selecting the budweiser most valuable player for today's game at the conclusion of the contest and reeves pointed out earlier this week that this has been the least enjoyable season of his nine year career says he enjoys the games but has not enjoyed dealing with the denver media also upset that he had to shuffle his his coaching staff as he did following last season elway in trouble and runs it out of bounds but picks up the first down nice block by vance johnson right at the end of that run the receiver turns blocker now the linebacker also 92 is pressure pittsburgh not really a big bit blitzing team but when elway gets out of the pocket just at the end of this play you're going to see vance johnson a little guy well you can't quite see him but he gets just enough of the defensive player see if we can pick it out again here comes vance johnson [Music] it looks like gerald williams the nose tackle gets bumped that's enough for elway to pick up the first down it is a first down at the 32-yard line 82 johnson in motion humphrey with the acceleration still is trying to strip him humphrey able to hold on the rookie jerry osawski on the tackle as we come up to two minutes to go in this first half so we'll be back here at mile high stadium in denver after this pause former head coach of the los angeles raiders there on the right comes back to denver told me yesterday he said my one job is to prepare john elway and he also i said to him i said you know john doesn't treat you like a coach and you don't treat him like a player he says well we've probably spent more time together in the last four years than we have with our watching film lifting weights preparing for the game elway had shanahan in a headlock when they walked off the practice field the other day something i don't think john will be doing with dan reeves oh it completes to humphrey getting inside the 25 david little on the stop not that that's the the telling point i walked off the other day with you and it's headlock no no no not true not true this is this is going to be fourth and short i think denver will go for it here 140 to go and clock ticking at the end of the first half i think they almost have to go for it looks like they're bringing in the big guys i see at least two tight ends there's k mobley is also in the ball game third and short clock is running down we're coming up on a minute of 10 to go first half elway able to complete and has the first down with the tight end clarence cave david little on the stop a timeout has been called by the broncos they convert the third down so they don't have to drive forward on the fourth down well tonight's lineup on nbc will start out with ernest goes to camp followed by the family comedy's sister kate and my two dads and then the world premiere of cross of fire they will all be seen in their entirety following the game except on the west coast where you can see them at their regulate scheduled time that is tonight following football i'll tell you what pittsburgh is doing a pretty good job of covering the primary receivers of the denver broncos this time elway this time elway is looking downfield but he's well covered and clarence k is the outlet receiver you see him right in front of 92 and he's not a primary receiver in this but always able to find him for the first down conversion pittsburgh's defensive back doing a pretty good job downfield when we resume denver first down at the pittsburgh 19 a minute four left in this first half denver 10 pittsburgh 7 22-yard run by bobby humphrey a 26-yard field goal by treadwell and brisker to rodney carter on a 15-yard pass play bob and oj at halftime all the scores and highlights tied in move referee number 88 on the outfit and that is clarence k called for the false start well that'll drive you crazy if you're a head coach come on gentlemen get the snap count supposed to trick the defense and it is a first and 15 back at the 24. now humphrey and sewell are in the backfield [Music] john elway was sacked seven times last week by the philadelphia eagles second time of the day for the steelers greg lloyd coming up with it his third of the year [Music] and there is lloyd out of fort valley state denver takes the time out with 57 seconds left i think they were trying to get the ball to steve sewell here he's in the backfield he's going to have man there's carnell lake and he's waiting for a guy to clear underneath but clarence k didn't get out there quick enough asking 92 on the inside and again john elway does the smart thing he's already thrown two interceptions 13 on the season he takes the sack this is a good enough offense and he has enough weapons out there and they've converted the big downs that they've needed today then go back and try it again well the penalty in the sack may have taken denver out of field goal range it will be a 47-yard attempt right here for david treadwell raiders with a 21-0 lead spurred on by both jackson in the first half philadelphia and san diego now tied at seven and the giants with that 14-3 lead uh the phoenix cardinals up and down here for phoenix win two in a row lose four straight and they've won their last two and is now second down in 21 at the 30. from the shotgun and he is hammered down at the 25 by olsafsky clock is running as we come up on 40 seconds to go in this first half good idea but well defense by pittsburgh this does not cool them you see humphrey does a little bit of pass protection there and then 50 david little is there also is there to help on the tackle along with 93 willis and a third down and 15 clock still running on the board has lots of room and slides close to the first down marker with the timeout taken the clock is stopped with 11 seconds remaining what did round rush tell us two parts of every play worth repeating especially with elway the pass and then the scramble they have good coverage downfield they put in their dime package pittsburgh does pittsburgh does you can see the defenses spread all over the field and it's a pass now but now it turns into a run now every all the defensive backs that have to come up to the line of scrimmage down elway went into this game as denver's seventh all-time leading rusher and they're just short of the first down it is a 15-yard run elways carried the ball four times for 29 yards nightmare for any defensive coordinator not just rod rust treadwell come on will come on for the field goal attempt yeah then it is a fourth and inches 11 seconds remaining and reeves will go for the three treadwell earlier hit from 26 yards away on the season he is 15 for 19. at one point hit 11 in a row before he missed from 54. i'm always a little bit leery about these field goal attempts now kubiak is the holder here treadwell is the kicker you never can tell they're running the clock down to three seconds and cubic kubiak takes the time out but i'm always a little bit leery you know yes they can take the sure three points they're acting like it's going for a field goal but whenever you have a quarterback as the holder i don't know i'm not comfortable as the defense john elway certainly not a good half for himself started out well in that first quarter and then intercepted twice oh wait nine for 15 173 yards with the uh two intercepts david treadwell first year player out of clemson who replaced rich collins who was cut during a pre-season carlos today hitting for seven field goals tying an nfl record jim bakken of st louis connected for seven back in 1967. that's a 26-yard attempt once again for treadwell kubiak puts it down and the king is good [Music] second field goal of the day for treadwell and at halftime the broncos who appear to be on the way to blowing out pittsburgh have to settle for a 13-7 lead with the steelers coming down garrett carrington is with only four first downs and all of those by the pass none by the run and they came into this game chuck noll said look we want to establish the run the turnovers the rushing yards pittsburgh has not done much without the help of john elwood well pittsburgh thought they would establish a run early coming off the philadelphia eagle success uh last week running right at the denver broncos running for 215 yards overall and running through that first series of 13 runs in a row for a touchdown abby humphrey who had 62 yards on the ground and the first half was stopped by a rookie from the university of pittsburgh inside linebacker jerry olsofsky bobby humphrey the leading rookie rusher in the afc now 16 carries for the 69 yards including that 22-yard touchdown run in the first quarter picked up seven second down and three at the 27. just underway in the third quarter humphrey looks to go wide and cannot greg lloyd along with tim johnson making the stop on bobby humphrey good lateral pursuit that time by the pittsburgh defense they were not tricked at all this is a very active defense you see johnson 78 lloyd 95 staying outside those blocks humphrey has nowhere to go so this is the first time now in the second half that john elway has to throw he doesn't appear to be after that first half performance very confident and he is looking at a third down at five he has four white house johnson young jackson and the teal was healed back off the entry list did make a reception earlier being pursued and down he goes carnell lake for strong safety getting credit for the steelers third sack of the afternoon that's a safety blitz pittsburgh was all over the line of scrimmage pittsburgh has played well defensively lake comes from the right side of the screen untouched they're supposed to be a hot receiver somewhere that's darnell lake's first sack of the season and the haran in for the first one of the day carnell lake a guy who made the difficult transition from linebacker to strong safety a second round draft pick he's played well puts it back and here is that first pot by haran one of the better punters in the nfl once and it's recovered by dwight stone darren carrington was in the coverage of 42-yard punt now denver's punt coverage has been poor last in the afc going into today this their first opportunity and woodson running to his left to handle it how to go off his hands by all rights that should be fair caught but pittsburgh does not have a fair catch on a punt so far this season i asked dan edwards our pr director what do you do find these guys if they bear catch them pittsburgh is lucky to retain possession and they start out from their 41 first series for the second half tim worley the rookie from georgia it's across the 45 the nose tackle friggin inside linebacker denison combining on the stop he went for six it'll be a second down and four at the 47th now we sweep around the scoreboard a look the early games cleveland led by kozar through for three with the victory same for houston and atlanta miami the jets green bay all winning will continue in a moment straight ahead by hodge and he is short of the first down at midfield met by carl mecklenburg overtime minnesota beating the rams seven field goals for the former bronco rich carlos kansas city knocking off seattle and in the later games raiders with a 21-nothing lead earlier bo jackson a 92-yard run and oversized knocked out of the game because of a bruised lung and rookie eric wilhelm a southpaw rookie from oregon state is in at quarterback for messiah center a third down and two front midfield [Music] has the first his way finally stopped by the corner tyrone braxton you can see what pittsburgh's idea is here on in the second half and that is power football this is a sweep you see lots of power blocking here everybody down good lead block by the running back and warley right up there quick and nobody from denver can even catch it an excellent block by terry long on the pull hodge 33 out front and his 14-yard pickup for a first down and this denver defensive unit has prided itself on the fact they have not given up a run of more than 21 yards that a good pickup by worley first down of the denver 36 play action and brister on the roll able to get it away and threw it away receivers covered good rush by alfonso carricker louis lips who has yet to catch a ball was in the area but that ball surprises me play action fake after running the ball so well they go back to the play-action run or the play-action pass and brister is bumped to the ground by alfonso carricker so now they're in a position again where it's second and ten tom moore's the man with a call and they're running the ball very well and they can establish some control of the line of scrimmage chuck noll right there by his side what do we got here second down 10 at the 36. steelers trailing 13-7 the draw for worley running well bouncing off tacklers michael brooks did get him down and suddenly tim worley impressing that bronco defensive unit look what they're doing here they're running a full block to get good field position a good blocking position for all the offensive linemen and it works against denver watch this lead up through there by trench okay really knocks dennison right on his keister and picks up six and he has now gone for 53 yards nine carries third down and three at the 29. potter in motion and brister has hodge hot right at the first down marker we'll have to see where they spotted took the hit from atwater and henderson penalty barker is down use of hands against the defense or pass interference well what those two interceptions have done certainly given pittsburgh a psychological lift kept him in the balcony [Music] nickel defense he's on louie lips right on the outside of the formation and he gets his hand right up underneath this face mask but i don't see the flag thrown yet it was thrown first down pittsburgh the ball is at the denver 24 yard line now the backfield of hodge and carter carter 24 peels off brister wide open oh bobby bristow walking that one off oh that's a special play because they run carter in motion he draws dennis smith the strong safety out with him malarkey runs the good pattern michael brooks is the linebacker that should be in coverage they say the game is a game of inches see the motion that draws dennis smith out there you can see the corner is wide open they'll be just over throws it whoa second and tenth at the 24. the rookie hill is to the left lips in motion and hodge for a very short game michael brooks with the aggressive tackle on the fullback merrill hodge brooks from the backside excellent pursuit linebacker ran that play all the way down the other side of the offense you'll see brooks right side of the screen when that play goes away he starts down the line of scrimmage and when hodge cuts back up looks there to make the tackle six minutes have gone by in this third quarter pittsburgh steelers with a record of four and four despite scoring the fewest number of touchdowns in the in the nfl only 13 including today a timeout has been called now there's chuck noe looking to talk it over with his quarterback bobby brister will take a break back after this capacity crowd in the area of 76 000 of mile high in denver the steelers haven't played here since back in 1984 in a playoff matchup won by pittsburgh 24 17. third down eight at the denver 22 broncos 13 and the steelers seven brister in trouble now he goes ron holmes who had two sacks last week comes up with his fourth of the season and for denver their first sack of bobby brister i think you would call that a timely sack wouldn't you they got nine guys at the line of scrimmage it looks like holmes is on john rinstra the left guard beats him and beats him good takes him out of field goal range newsome has to come in and punt so the denver broncos who have done it throughout the season come up with another big defensive play vance johnson is back and he lets it go it flies into the end zone so they bring it out to the 20 but a flag thrown at the far side of the field that's down the field tomorrow just under nine minutes remaining in the third quarter now this all depends holding defense before after the ball leaves his foot it has to be once the ball is in the air then they'll tack it onto the from the 20. 29 by the receivers after the ball is kicked it'll be denver's ball on the 10-yard line fish down at 10. the hold is called on darren carrington so they'll start out from the 10 but first a timeout we'll be back in a moment niccolo bob a very rough day for the cincinnati bengals bloomer assistant injured earlier bruce long and eric wilhelm came on i would told james brooks out of the game because a confusion of the ribs has set him back never taking over first down from their 10-yard line and elway gives it to humphrey short advance david little the inside linebacker first to get to bobby humphreys it does appear that dan reeves is being very very careful down here when you have first and 10 at the 10 it's a very good time for play action or a throw and he chooses to run the ball on the line of scrimmage i'm wondering if he's thinking about those two interceptions that the elway threw right into coverage in the first half particularly the second one he tried to drill it through and brian hickle picked it off second down and nine at the 11. sewell and humphrey now around the field at the same time humphrey in the backfield and takes the handoff and gets out to the 15. so four yards picked up on the play it will be a third down and five olsafsky on the stop of humphrey just under eight minutes remaining in this third quarter broncos 13 and the steelers seven humphrey 22 yard touchdown run a couple of field goals for treadwell both from 26 bristol to conor on a 15-yard pass play denver now with four wide receivers pittsburgh with six defensive backs this is where elways had his problems michael young in motion screen and elway able to complete has the first down with sewell steve sewell five-year man from oklahoma who can run the ball catch it and occasionally will throw it one of the league's talented all-around players able to pick up the first down doug weidel is the offensive guard out in front of him again fall from the sideline a very conservative call picks up the first down good coverage by pittsburgh downfield denver on first down so far today five passes 12 runs first down at the 24 yard line and it's bell breton for very little greg lloyd the outside linebacker coming up from the right side to make the stop on the rookie out of miami well a look at tonight's lineup following the nfl here on nbc earnest goes to camp to be followed by the family comedy sister kate and my two dads and then the world premiere of cross of fire they will all be seen in their entirety following this telecast except on the west coast where you can see them at their regulate a scheduled time it is a second and eighth at the 26 yard line 89 mobley in motion johnson elway had the time nice catch vance johnson on a 15-yard hook up see that's the thing about john elway he can have a bad series where he can have a bad half he never seems to really lose self-confidence there are many quarterbacks who can zip this thing out here like this that's the toughest throw there is in the nfl from the left hash mark he throws all the way to the right sideline johnson with a spectacular catch dwayne woodruff has got good coverage there's no way to stop that that ball was thrown before johnson ever turned around and looked second catch of the day for vance johnson first down up the 41. private began back at the 10. bullet pass for another first down clarence k the tight end tackled by carnell lake and now the broncos in a very nice looking drive have moved that ball out to midfield and now they spot it at the 50 so it's short of the first down again great velocity on the throw that snap throw that gun of an arm looking left not open gets it out there the defensive back carnell lake was very close what about the tap of the ball and are you talking about that i don't like that that's a bad habit although he says no problem second down and about a yard and a half humphrey trying to go wide and is able to pick up the first down bumping with woodruff now you made the point that it can cause a slight delay in the release yes when it becomes part of your throwing motion then it's bad now i spoke to mike shanahan about it and he said yeah i know he does it but he does it going back he doesn't do it just before he's ready to throw it so watch again now this is a scramble he's looking left there's the tap he doesn't hit it with us there's the tap right there he's not over there's the tap and they throw it uh i saw bill walsh break anderson with that habit first down at the 47th in pittsburgh territory humphrey slashing his way inside the 45 met by the outside linebacker brian hinkle well suddenly now denver doing a little better job at the line of scrimmage bar beginning to get some control right at the line of scrimmage they've got youth up there there are four new starters on that offensive line ken lanier is the only guy with any real experience good block by mel bratton up front humphrey picks up about two yards there's hall of famer joe green he coaches that defensive front four or three whichever it might be second out and seven the ball of the pittsburgh 44 you saw the movement elway stepping up away throwing deep touchdown the flag is on the defense vance johnson of what appeared to be a free play for john elway on the score on a 44-yard touchdown pass barb you could see the tunnel here's the ball touchdown barb you could see that john elway knew that he drew them off sides and waited and waited and waited for somebody to get close to the end zone but watch once again there's gerald williams that's the third time he's jumped off and he knows he's got a free play he doesn't want the little dunk he's going for the distance and johnson again a very acrobatic catch [Applause] vance johnson among the leaders of the afc in receptions he now has 42 for the season his third catch of the day david treadwell with the extra point john elway with his first touchdown pass of the afternoon number 10 on the season and the demon broncos have extended to a 20-7 lead on the pittsburgh steelers [Music] shy elway to vance johnson just a moment ago for a 27 lead and a bouncing kickoff is handled by rod woodson got to slip his way through getting out to the 30-yard line and the pittsburgh steelers back to the offense rick dennison on the tackle of what's in the state line on elway most impressive thing 19 yards for completion today for john elwood so darren lies the argument that people have in denver not having a great year 19 yards of completion he throws a touchdown and two interceptions that pretty much echoes his frustration of the season and also the fans here in denver that's great play first down from the 30 with the crowd urging the bronco defensive hit it on and worcester is stuck for the second time the sack for simon fletcher and for fletcher that is nine and a half sacks for the season he is among the leaders in the nfl bristol rolls that way after there's pressure you see 73 fletcher on the blitz and fletcher with outstanding foot speed jackson is the offensive tackle that is supposed to make the block but fletcher gets right inside and is there before bubby has any chance whatsoever so a loss of 10 it sets it back to a second and 20 from the 20. pittsburgh's offensive line jackson and elkin at the tackles rings through and long at the guards dawson at center 83 lips in motion here's hodge and he was crunched at water and smith the safety men combining to make the stops steve atwater the outstanding rookie denver's number one draft pick out of arkansas leads the broncos in tackles he has a safety who is bigger than many linebackers at six foot three watch where these guys are here's smith i believe this is atwater although i'm not sure they flow very well these two guys are between them they're about 215 pounds each and boy they're gonna make a lot of stops for denver for a lot of years jason johnson now to the left lois lips to the right brister goes short for hodge and he is short by a good margin of first down territory ryman henderson was all over merrell hodge that's four screens the pittsburgh steelers have tried only one has worked [Music] defensive coordinator wade phillips very proud of that defense getting out there remember this defense couldn't stop anybody last year gave up 4.7 yards per rush and now this this is the defensive old and harry newsome who has had a busy afternoon is back at a seventh this is sixth point of the day vance johnson major factor here today is back and the fair catch playing it safe is vance johnson in particular with ken bell having all kinds of difficulties and in recent weeks another terrific punt 53 yards for newsome we'll be back in a and moment course elway with that 19 yard for completion average on his passes they've struggled but they've gotten it done to this point and keyless swept to the left the tight end modelly to the right and then in motion he has run well 84 yards for bobby humphrey well if you're a steeler fan all you can hope for is if somebody crossed the ball up here pittsburgh comes up with an interception somehow to get some life back in the pittsburgh steeler side of the ball and of course i think denver is aware of that be conservative in your play calling don't give chuck noll and the pittsburgh steelers some incentive here over the last quarter plus two minutes second down and five across the thirty nation 84 in motion and a short pickup was stopped by jerry olsafsky who's had a very strong game a reminder next saturday nbc sports will present final round coverage of the international where golf's greatest players will be shooting for 650 000 in prize money that is next saturday on nbc sports and i understand bob you'll be making your golf debut do you have a whispering approach i i don't see that uh i've never done anything without a crowd in the background but i'll do my very level best not to bother those gentlemen gerald williams is on the ground hurt his knee but i'll send you a postcard please please making the trek to uh maui so volleyball in the olympics boxing and football amazing versatility i'm all over the place or i can't do anything one thing good you see also there 92 try to strip the ball away for the rest of this game denver's gonna have to contend with that williams is the nose tackle kind of got his weight outside of that knee joint and when that happens that's when things begin to pop he's working on carts to center [Music] he is right in front of the empire there and the play is going to go this way and as he pursues he kind of gets his leg anytime the weight of the upper body gets outside that knee joint that's when you have trouble you can see he's kind of plants that right foot right there just as he's hit and it gets popped right on the kneecap hopefully he's all right he's up and moving around in his fourth season out of albert last week against kansas city gerald williams had an emotional battle going head-to-head with former teammate mike webster matter of fact mike webster was gerald williams best teacher in practice showed him some of the tricks williams is an excellent nose tackle but he also said that i don't think webster taught me all of his tricks it's a third down and four for 32. and a handoff for sammy weiner who just checked in aj jenkins the rookie from cal state fullerton came up to make the stop wider short of the first down a minute remaining in this third quarter as mike karan comes out to punt for the second time today now pittsburgh almost has to come with some sort of punt block here something dramatic well 10 men up on the line rod woodson back at his 30. denver's punt coverage as we mentioned earlier has not been good this season here they come but hurran has no problem and woodson oh bear catches it this time not taking any chances he was shading to the left when he muffed it earlier and this time decided not to take a shot first time in the 1989 season this is the ninth game first time that a pittsburgh punt returner fur catches a punt wow 41-yard punt by haran the steelers are down 20 to seven as they take over with a half minute left in this third quarter again a run around the the scoreboard the finals from the early games pittsburgh very quickly to the line starting from their 26. lips in motion and it's back to the ground for whirly who has run very well this afternoon gets out to the 34 steve atwater from the free safety position to make the hit you know i was struck by chuck knows comment to us last night he's not exactly sure what they have in worley he's missed so much of he missed all of training camp and been hurt not healthy throughout the regular season they're not exactly sure what they have yet and a player who has been labeled as a franchise running back he was the number seven picked overall in last year six but a rough one thus far against the broncos johnson runs it out of bounds run out by tyrone stowe 40 yard punt five yard return we'll be back after these messages broncos and in the steelers numbers their six first downs just one rushing and bobby humphrey by himself has outrushed the pittsburgh steelers 22 carries 84 yards and fellow rookie tim worley said one of his better performances 10 rushes 61 yards denver takes over minute gone by in the fourth quarter first down from the 30-yard line on a reverse does not work with mark jackson caught back behind the line jackson going from right to left was hit down by greg lloyd the outside linebacker that's in lieu of a pass dan reeves motion in some instances he's motion he's signaling in the play and in others the formation he seems much relieved he was very glad that john elway got that stuff off of his chest and their last seven games five and two on the road so bronco's got a tough final seven games of the season second down and 13. elway going sideline mark jackson came back to make the reception he was looking for that first down marker and let's see where they spot it wayne woodruff on the stop it is short of the first down somebody ran the wrong pattern here clarence k the tight end is out there look how close clarence k and jackson are to each other jackson was wide open but uh clarence chao looked like he ran too deep there it's a third down at one sammy weiner and mel bratton now and the denver backfield and on the quarterback snake elway has the first down that catch a moment ago by jackson was his first of the day speaking of first i know denver is on the offense but i don't think lewis lips has a catch today he does not well and last week louis lips had a huge week seven catches for 130 yards raiders increasing their lead 28 nothing a very tough day for cincinnati osiasin and james brooks both the sideline by injury san diego leading philadelphia the eagles with four straight wins last week they beat denver on the first down play brenton stopped by lloyd and now we're set for an update let's go to nfl live here's bob costas marv as you noted the raiders continue to pour it on jay schroeder will go 84 yards down the left sideline to willy gall after the former bear makes the catch he makes the good inside move picks up a pick and then a block boom he's in there 28 nothing the raiders are gonna be four and one under art shell all right bob and it's a second down and five at the 46 for denver they leave by the score of 20 to 7. just beyond mark jackson who lost rod woodson i think john elway is totally shocked that jackson was this far open past woodson this is a full trajectory throw by john elway you see woodson trying to come from the safety spot the corner gave him no help whatsoever and he's looking please please come on win catch it slow it down dog got it and now a third down and five at the 46 elway in the second half five for six 85 l.a able yards scramble and then runs it out and runs it out short of the first down carnell lake had him pinned in from a strong safety for so mike haran will come on to punt there is blake second round grand pick out of ucla probably the best part of this pittsburgh defense is the young defensive backs that they have oh my god they really have to worry about losing on age is rod woodson excuse me dwayne woodruff and derrick hill now back in the park formation as the deep man instead of rod woodson who was back there earlier and a 10-man rush coming up here again for pittsburgh moran getting it away [Music] and it takes a denver hop down by the broncos here's klostermann able to down at 45-yard punt and a beauty by haran 10 28 to go in the fourth quarter but in the second half no yards one for three thus far and he overthrows derek hill at the far side a second and ten back at the seven 10 24 to go in the fourth quarter and the broncos lead the steelers by the score of 20 to seven they have not been able to consistently run the ball and really threaten denver with the run today so there's been a lot of emphasis on bubby brister trying to throw the football and it's just not working when you're down 20 to 7 it's tough because the defensive line now is in their sprinter's stance heading up field look at that getting the hole out across the 15-yard line tyrone braxton the left corner making the stop on tim worley i want to see that graphic again make sure i saw that correctly in nine possessions six times i've gone three plays and out are your eyes going on well maybe i thought i read it wrong six of nine possessions three plays and out and that began right at the start first three series for pittsburgh one two three on downs and then the punch by newsome third down and one worley was just shy of the first down from the 11. well he was tripped up ron holmes got to him that's seven of ten drives three plays and out great penetration at the line of scrimmage holmes 90 right inside the block he beats whirly on the lead block actually hodge does a great job to get that much out of it because holmes anticipated the snap count was in there before anybody could do anything with it well they will measure 9 20 remaining in this fourth quarter the broncos lead by 13 20 to 7 and it is short of the first down about a half yard short and so pittsburgh is forced to give it up down there in the pit you'll see a body just complying through there there's holmes and the lead block responsibility to tim earley he doesn't get it done and seven of ten drives pittsburgh goes three plays an hour to punt for the eighth time vance johnson is back at his 40. look out in trouble and down he goes well last season harry newsom had six punts blocked an nfl record still he with the league averaging 45 and a half per punt thus far this season no if not punts but an adventure right here that's totally on him germany johnson is the snapper that is certainly catchable [Applause] it's gone that way for pittsburgh today but this snap is fine no problem he just doesn't hang on to it so the broncos first and goal from the two broughton and humphrey in the backfield well you know the officials could throw a flag on that one he went in their feet first rod woodson hit him and woodson is still down so john elway runs it in from two yards away and the broncos now lead the steelers 26-7 elway 35 yards seven carries and the touchdown look like a design rollout quarterback keep all the way and of course mr newsome's bobble of the punt snap and that was it now the drive for the point after by david treadwell mary kubiak will put it down 8 53 to go in this fourth quarter denver pulling [Applause] away [Applause] pittsburgh steelers here now lorenzo freeman getting a little excited the david treadwell kickoff woodson from the goal line just short of the 20 where he took a good pop scott curtis leading the coverage and again words between these two clubs larry griffin in there for pittsburgh mark munford number 51 for denver a lot of finger pointing and the officials able to break it up john elway has come on strong in this second half intercepted twice in the first half it kept pittsburgh in the ball game and elway running on it and throwing one and taking the congratulations from his teammates and makes it official despite elway 14 for 21 261 yards gary kubiak warming up on the sideline that intended for the tight end mike malarkey covered by linebacker rick dennison so we might see kubiak on that next denver series as accurate as bubby brister was last week 17-27 against kansas city he has not been good today had a good full week of practice he told us and last week he took all the snaps on friday and this week he worked out the entire week he can't blame this on his knee denver's just giving him a lot of different looks and he's missed some open receivers only one for five no yards second half whirly out to the 24 yard line denison on the stop along with tyrone braxton we spent some time with bobby brister last night bobby at one point had to make a choice between baseball and football after finishing high school wanting to play baseball was drafted by the detroit tigers played instructional league ball with the likes of howard johnson and glenn wilson his manager was jim lilla now the manager of the pittsburgh pirates and i asked him where did you play he said left field and he also said that's where his game was out in left field he hit 186 and then decided to concentrate on football third down and six for bristol in trouble can't find anyone and then fires down field for thompson and it's incomplete thompson and smith battling for it luigi thompson at six foot six covered by the strong safety dennis smith that's now eight out of 11 drives pittsburgh is going three downs and out you can see the strong arm that bubby has said he was a pitcher in high school when they moved him to left field and he broke his thumb he wanted out of baseball [Applause] well once again harry newsome is back to pot bobbled the last one that led to denver taking over on the two and now vance johnson finding room on the sideline and he's been playing it safe wisely so runs it out of bounds and does a little a semi hurdle 40 yard pawn and a 9 yard return vance johnson a major factor in today's game as a punt returner and successful wide receiver scubia comes in at quarterback replacing john elway and actually vance johnson set the tone for the day when he had that first big punt return didn't go for a score but it put denver in great field position and you know elway had the two turnovers the two interceptions they've dominated gary kubiak has not taken a snap at quarterback this season and he's greeted by the fans first down from the denver 45 yard line humphrey trying to pick his way and cannot find any room david little closing it up kubiak in his seventh year out of texas a m started four times last year and uh has had success in some tough situations he was the starter in the loss to pittsburgh last year completed 15 of 27 a couple of touchdowns good backup knows his role and he doesn't push the coaches to start i think in this case there's no question yes no question whatsoever in motion off the roll the deal on the reception thomas everett the free safety ran him out ricky nathiel showing some speed making it back from the injured reserve list he was out with a cracked kneecap second catch of the day for ricky nateel now before anyone accuses denver of running up the score this is not designed to pick up 22 yards this is designed to get a yard or two or maybe three keith willis goes to the sideline for the pittsburgh steelers but that's i think a play out of the run and shoot the little roll down the line of scrimmage there's brister on the sideline not a good day that's not good especially off of the way he performed and his team performed last week that's got to be very disappointing for both those guys tom moore on the left bobby brister hodge behind him denver first out of the pittsburgh 34 off the delay sammy winder could not make the turn carnell lake and brian hickle combined to make the stop coming up tonight on the magical world of disney ernest goes to camp and that will be followed by two new episodes of the family comedy sister kate and my two dads and then the world premiere of cross of fire that is based on the true story of the rise and fall of the ku klux klan of the midwest during the 20s a story that has received superb reviews that's crossed the fire tonight on nbc you're looking at the late games on our 10-minute ticker here it's a 27-7 lead for denver over pittsburgh second down at 11. kubiak completes again same play other side ricky nathiel with his fur catch of the dead discussion concerning where they will spot the ball that is it is spotted at the 25 short of the first down the deal comes in motion squares his shoulders to the receiver and then the deal does a great job avoiding the tackle by woodson and the dive he's about uh looks like about a yard and a half short and there is ricky nation in his third season out of the university of florida so the three amigos reunited today just under six minutes left in this fourth quarter second back coming through as the first down sammy weiner stopped by jerry olsofsky denver now being guided by gary kubiak on the move this telecast is presented by authority of the national football league intended for the private use of our audience any rebroadcast for the use of this telecast without the express written consent of the denver broncos and the national football league is prohibited all rights reserved well they will measure and it is a first down amber broncos in a battle with the pittsburgh steelers through the first half it was only 13-7 at halftime with elway intercepted twice this field was able to hang around in the third quarter elway on a 44-yard touchdown to vance johnson extending to 20-7 broke a tackle and gets down to the 16 david little dwayne woodruff combined to make the stop you know looking at those numbers on the score you remember the interception that john elway threw i think the pittsburgh steelers started about the 35-yard line so the denver defenses basically pitched a shutout here they've done very well on the long field short field brister got the one reception to carter for the touchdown so all parties i believe are pleased yes denver's defense bouncing back wade phillips disappointed with the way denver's defense started out last week against the eagles not pleased about some poor tackling at the start of the game but of course the material a bit different when you look at the eagles and the steelers bell bratton gunning for that first down he's stopped by rod woodson broncos have had a very favorable schedule out of their first nine games as we touched down earlier six played at home their last seven games include only two at home against the giants and the seattle seahawks next sunday denver will be at kansas city they beat the chiefs here on opening day 34-20 then in two weeks they'll be at washington and then home for seattle again the yardsticks requested by the way that football has pete roselle's name on it yes and as of midnight last night there's going to be more space needed on that football for paul tagliabue now officially the paul tagliabue era fifa roselle's run of nearly 30 years as nfl commissioner uh coming to an end pete and his wife uh terry settling down on the west coast a remarkable run to put it into perspective bob you realize that during his 30 years baseball has had six commissioners the nba has had four nhl has had two and remember roselle was elected commissioner back in 1960 as a compromise candidate that was on the 23rd ballot so they couldn't decide that either i don't think the nfl will ever undergo as much growth and prosperity as it's gone through under pete roselle's helm as commissioner he's handled it with great dignity still admits that the only mistake he ever made was playing back in 1964 on the weekend of the assassination of john f kennedy uh you don't find many people if anybody criticizing people for anything he's done in the 30 years he's been commissioner kubiak picked up the first down ninth play of the drive coming up roselle was asked the other day if there's any one particular moment that he he cherishes and i'll pass that on and in just a moment to look at our lineup next week first down at the 12 and humphrey to the outside humphrey looks to turn it in and he does so the broncos take a 33-7 lead as bobby humphrey has scored his fifth touchdown of the season and has gone over the 100 yard mark 105 yards 25 carries second touchdown of the day make it six for the season for the rookie from alabama last week held only 44 yards on 12 carries by the eagles [Applause] we're down to three minutes to go thankfully fourth quarter i'm enjoying it bob me too but for pittsburgh you don't want to have any injuries in the final three minutes of a football game that you're losing to and the this point by treadwell is right through the denver broncos now leading the pittsburgh steelers by the score of 34-7 with three will will kick it off and it is woodson on the return and woodson hit down across the 30-yard line randy robbins making the stop i mentioned before that there is a particular moment that pete rozelle cherished as he looks back at his career as nfl commissioner he was announcing each team's first round choice at the college draft this after the steelers asked rush had harassed fran tarkenton back in super bowl number nine and he said when the vikings turn came about they did not make their choice in the required time so he said minnesota passes and then without missing a beat one of the graphics on hand on the balcony yelled and it's knocked down by l.c greenwood pizza always kept this sense of humor first out of the 31 bristol in trouble almost makes a completion mecklenburg in pursuit of bobby brister who is hobbling yeah looked like he his foot kind of slipped and he may have turned his knee a little bit more it's the left one when he sets up mecklenburg in pursuit [Applause] well he almost kind of trips over his own feet but manages to get it out there in the direction of merrell hodge for no completion bob it's been a shutout of bubby brister in the second half one for seven zero zero yards that's the overall eight for 21. pittsburgh coming in 28th in total yards a little shovel pass for hodge and so finally there will be some plus yardage not much though dennis smith running out meryl hodge is able to complete the rookie derrick hill with the long gainer gets to the 44 kip carrington on the tackle of 22-yard pass play and now the steelers in the hurry up with 215 remaining in this fourth quarter look at our lineup following the broncos and the steelers another completion lewis lips finally with his first reception randy robbins making the stop well tonight's lineup on nbc beginning with ernest goes to camp then sister kate michael hodge close to the first down marker simon fletcher was right there and pittsburgh not able to pick it up long day for that man chuck noll third down play christopher looking left sideline and it was almost intercepted wyman henderson had a shot at stopping the streak of bubby brister he came into today throwing 153 passes without an interception intercepted only three times this year only chris miller of atlanta has fewer interceptions two well that was third down in short and he went for the distance he was looking to get it done to jason johnson there ball was underthrown jason johnson a one-time denver broncos side is a plan b free agent has seen limited service here today so the uh fourth and one with nothing to lose the clock working down and uh brisker pops it to hong kong and actually probably the kindest thing that could have happened to pittsburgh turn it over to denver let them run out the clock get out of here field goals thanks to our producer guanadomo our director andy rosenberg mr statz handling the statistics elliot count our spotters merit cone mark friedman as we come up on one minute remaining in this fourth quarter raiders with a 28-7 lead philadelphia san diego are tied and the giants on top and that is our lineup tonight starting with the magical world of disney and concluding with the movie premiere of cross of fire and the broncos headed to a record of seven and two leading the afc west pittsburgh will drop to four and five next week the steelers home for chicago two weeks home for san diego then back to the road for miami their second half schedule appears to be lex taxing in the first half however are not feeling too good about what took place here today as they are losers to dan reeves and his denver broncos by the score of 34 to 7 as the clock is just winding down bobby coming off a 17 for 27 performance last week got everything done today he can accomplish very little so the broncos with win number seven seven up two down we'll be back in a moment

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Length: 131min 32sec (7892 seconds)

Published: Mon May 17 2021