The Broncos aren't dead yet.

On Sunday, the Broncos secured their second-straight upset over a playoff-bound team to keep their slim playoff hopes alive. A week after they edged the Chargers by a single point, the Broncos ended the Steelers' six-game winning streak with a 24-17 victory in Denver, during which they capitalized on countless Steelers mistakes to earn a season-saving win. 

The game came down to a goal-line stand that ended with a fitting finale. On third-and-goal from the 2-yard line with just over a minute to play, as Ben Roethlisberger surveyed his options in the end zone, Broncos defensive tackle Shelby Harris disengaged from his blocker, dropped back into coverage, and picked off Roethlisberger's pass to seal the win. 

At 5-6, after wins over the now 8-3 Chargers and the 7-3-1 Steelers, the Broncos are very much alive in the AFC playoff picture. They likely won't catch the Chargers for the fifth seed, but they're in play for that sixth and final seed, which is being eyed by a number of teams in a cluster of .500-ish teams.

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Points were difficult to acquire in a mistake-filled game. At halftime, the game was knotted up at 10-10 thanks to a slick fake field goal by the Steelers and a couple of key unlikely stops by the Broncos.

A 97-yard touchdown via Roethlisberger and JuJu Smith-Schuster granted the Steelers their first lead of the game early in the third quarter. But Steelers turnovers gave the Broncos the extra chances they needed. Two Steelers turnovers in the second half led directly to 14 Broncos points. The third turnover of the second half ended the game entirely.

First, Big Ben gave the Broncos a chance to tie the game with an ugly pick to Chris Harris Jr., and Case Keenum and Emmanuel Sanders promptly scored a touchdown. Then, James Conner fumbled on the final play of the third quarter after he journeyed deep inside Broncos territory on a huge catch and run. The Broncos turned that into a touchdown thanks to Phillip Lindsay, who provided the Broncos with their game-winning touchdown. They eventually held on for a hard-fought win with that goal line stand that resulted in their third takeaway of the second half and their fourth overall.

The Steelers' loss halted their winning streak at six games. At 7-3-1, they're still very much in control of the AFC North over the 6-5 Ravens, but the race for the No. 2 seed and a first-round bye is very much on. The Patriots, at 8-3, hold a slim lead over the Steelers. The two teams will meet on Dec. 16 in Pittsburgh. Once again, a late-season game between the Steelers and Patriots will hold serious implications for the AFC playoff picture. Securing the No. 3 seed also takes on extreme importance considering the No. 4 seed is likely to host the Chargers, a team that looks like a legitimate Super Bowl contender, but is stuck in the same division division as the Chiefs. The Steelers are a playoff team, but how they enter the playoffs might dictate how far they journey into January.

Meanwhile, the Broncos are slowly creeping up the standings. They might not be a playoff team yet, but they're a dangerous one. Their two most-recent losses against the Chiefs and Texans (two teams in playoff positions) came by a combined nine points. They just beat the Chargers and Broncos. Keenum continues to be uneven, but he's capable of getting hot at the right moment -- and he played well against the Steelers. Lindsay gives the Broncos an explosive rushing attack. Sanders continues to be underrated. And the defense can take the ball away and get after the quarterback. 

All of those factors played a huge role in Sunday's win, which gave the Broncos life as fall turns into winter.

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Steelers mistakes lead to downfall

As much as the Broncos earned an upset over the Steelers, the Steelers certainly gave the Broncos extra opportunities to steal a win. 

The Steelers dominated most of the first half, but failed to polish off lengthy drives with points. Their first two drives spanned 22 plays and 121 yards, but netted no points. 

On the Steelers' first series, Broncos safety Justin Simmons blocked a field goal by jumping over the center, regaining his balance, and deflecting the ball. 

On the Steelers' next drive, they drew up a misdirection play to free up Xavier Grimble for a wide open pass downfield. But just when Grimble was about to rumble into the end zone, Will Parks jarred the ball loose. The ball bounced out of the end zone, which resulted in a turnover and a touchback.

And that's how the Steelers squandered 10 points in the first half. In the second half, three Broncos takeaways buried the Steelers.

Harris Jr.'s interception set up Keenum and Sanders' game-tying touchdown.

Bradley Roby's forced fumble preceded Lindsay's game-winning sore.

The final turnover in the end zone, via an unlikely source in a 290-pound defensive tackle who's experienced a whirlwind weekend, ended the game. 

Steelers fake out Broncos

It looked like the Steelers would squander six more points when tight end Vance McDonald dropped what should've been an easy two-yard touchdown pass from Roethlisberger late in the first half. The Steelers were forced to settle for a field goal. And that's when they stole a touchdown of their own. 

On the field goal try, they snapped the ball directly to kicker Chris Boswell, who found left tackle Alejandro Villanueva for an easy touchdown.

And that's how the first half ended in a 10-10 draw. For as many points as the Steelers gave away, they did steal a few there.

Keenum finishes strong

Keenum continues to be remarkably inconsistent, making nice throws outside the pocket that remind us of his MVP-esque run a season ago in Minnesota, but also missing the kinds of throws starting-caliber quarterbacks need to hit on a consistent basis. But he played well on Sunday, serving a substantial role in the come-from-behind win.

In all, Keenum went 15 of 28 for 197 yards (7.0 YPA), two touchdowns, no picks, and a 99.9 passer rating. He didn't turn the ball over, which proved to be crucial considering the Broncos won the turnover battle by a margin of four, and he played well on the Broncos' final two scoring drives.

In the first half, Keenum overshot Sanders deep down the right sideline for what should've been a touchdown for a big gain. But Keenum rebounded later in the half, capping a six-play, 75-yard drive with a red-zone touchdown pass to Matt LaCosse. As you can see below, the throw itself was pedestrian, but Keenum did well to cycle through his reads, working his way from the right to the left to find LaCosse sitting in a soft spot in coverage.

Keenum didn't miss on his second chance to hit Sanders in a similar spot after his bad miss earlier in the game. Immediately after Harris' interception in the third quarter, Keenum floated a pass to Sanders for a 38-yard hookup. Keenum and Sanders tied the game one play later.

On what ended up being the game-winning drive, Keenum converted a huge third down with a 13-yard completion to Daesean Hamilton and completed his final three passes for a total of 32 yards, which set up Lindsay for the go-ahead score. 

Steelers can't stop Sanders

Against his former team, Sanders exploded for 86 yards on seven receptions. He tied the game with a touchdown in the third quarter. On that two-play scoring drive, he accounted for all 43 yards.

After, he was all smiles on the sidelines.

On the Broncos' game-winning drive, he made catches on consecutive plays to take the Broncos from the 19-yard line to the 2. On the next play, Lindsay breached the end zone.

Phillip Lindsay's breakout continues

Lindsay, an undrafted free agent, continues to run all over defenses. He finished with 110 yards on 14 carries, averaging an incredible 7.9 yards per carry. 

His 32-yard run in the second quarter sparked the Broncos to their first touchdown. The most impressive moment, which showed off his athleticism and balance, might've come after he was pushed out of bounds.

Entering the game, he had 857 yards and six touchdowns on 145 touches. After Sunday's game, he now sits at 967 yards and seven scores on 159 touches. 

Pass-happy Pittsburgh

Roethlisberger attempted 56 passes, completed 41, and racked up 462 yards. He targeted nine different players. Smith-Schuster led the way with 13 catches for 189 yards and a touchdown while Antonio Brown contributed 67 yards on nine receptions. Conner, meanwhile, carried the ball only 13 times for 53 yards. The Steelers opted for a pass-heavy approach. 

Like Keenum, Big Ben missed his own touchdown on the right side of the field, overthrowing Smith-Schuster for what would've been a 75-yard, walk-in touchdown on the first play from scrimmage in the third quarter. But he didn't miss Smith-Schuster on their second series of the second half.

After a punt pinned the Steelers at their own 3-yard line, Smith-Schuster broke free downfield again for a 97-yard touchdown that gave the Steelers a 17-10 lead.

Ultimately, his two turnovers defined his day more so than any of his 41 completions. 

Give credit to the Steelers' offensive line. They took away the Broncos' outside pass rushers, all of whom are capable of wrecking a game. They held the Broncos to only two sacks, both of which didn't come until the fourth quarter. They prevented Von Miller, Bradley Chubb, and company from taking over even though they dropped back to pass 60 times (counting two sacks and two scrambles). 

That being said, Miller did get one monster sack.

Chris Harris Jr. follows through

Before the game, Harris Jr. said that he wanted one or two interceptions. He got one, which led to seven points.

In the process, he triggered a nice bonus.

What's next?

The Broncos can't afford many losses from this point on. So, it's good news then that the remainder of their schedule features a whole host of winnable games. They'll finish the year against the Bengals, 49ers, Browns, Raiders, and Chargers. The Broncos have a favorable-enough schedule to go on a late run, which they already kickstarted with two wins over superior teams.

The Steelers aren't so fortunate in terms of their schedule. They'll have a difficult time seizing the second seed with games against the Chargers, Raiders, Patriots, Saints, and Bengals remaining.

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