Steelers’ approach is to make Manning throw

PITTSBURGH – To a man, the Steelers have a ton of respect for Denver quarterback Peyton Manning.
Many of them grew up watching the 39-year-old future Hall of Fame quarterback not only play at a high level, but also show up on a multitude of television commercials and national ad campaigns.
Because of Manning, everyone knows that chickem parm tastes so good and nothing beats that new car smell.
Yet Sunday, the Steelers will be tasked with perhaps not only ending Manning’s season Sunday when they face the Broncos in Denver in an AFC Divisional Playoff game, they also could end his career.
“He’s one of the greatest to ever play the game,” said Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. “It’s always an honor to share the field with him. And I just hope that he doesn’t have a good day.”
There haven’t been a lot of good days for Manning this season. Though the NFL’s all-time passing yardage leader has expressed an interest in playing again next season, the Broncos could decide to move on from an aging quarterback who threw nine touchdown passes and 17 interceptions in 10 games this season. Manning threw one TD and eight interceptions in four home starts.
Before any of that is decided, however, the Broncos will host the Steelers in what will mark Manning’s first start since Nov. 15 against Kansas City. He left that game with a partially torn plantar fascia in his foot but not before having perhaps the worst game of his storied career – 5 of 20 for 35 yards and four interceptions.
That injury forced Manning to miss the Broncos’ game Dec. 20 in Pittsburgh, a 34-27 win by the Steelers over Broncos backup Brock Osweiller. Osweiller, who threw three touchdown passes in that loss to the Steelers, hasn’t practiced this week because of a knee injury suffered in Denver’s regular-season finale against San Diego.
With Manning back in the lineup, the Steelers could take a novel approach to defending the Broncos – force Manning to throw.
Denver’s running game, with backs Ronnie Hillman and C.J. Anderson, has been good but it was better with Osweiller at quarterback than with Manning. In Manning’s nine starts, the Broncos averaged 78.3 rushing yards per game. With Osweiller, it was 134.9.
“It’s nothing against Payton,” said Steelers defensive end Cameron Heyward. “Their running game is so vital to them. It helps Payton because then he doesn’t have to check into those longer passes. That’s with any quarterback.”
The Steelers believe if they stop the run, then they can get to Manning with their pass rush. At least that’s the plan.
“We can’t really worry about what Payton is going to do,” Heyward said. “We have to play our game and try to get after him. The best way to stop a quarterback is to sack him and put pressure on him, put him in adverse situations.”
That wasn’t always the case with Manning, at least the younger version.
Manning was once the game’s most feared passer, one who could sit back and pick an opponent apart whether he had a running game or not because he read defenses so well and had a lightning-quick release.
This season, however, Manning has completed 59.8 percent of his passes, his lowest percentage since his rookie season in 1998. That number combined with his 6.80 yards per pass attempt shows that Manning might not only be losing some of his arm strength, but some of his trademark accuracy, as well.
“He’s a coach playing football,” said Steelers defensive coordinator Keith Butler. “It’s trying to compete against another coach out there, except he’s controlling the things on the offensive side of the ball. He’s seen everything. We’re not going to fool him on anything that we do. We’re just going to try to execute and do the best we can and see how it turns out.”
Roethlisberger was limited at practice Thursday after sitting out Wednesday. He is still recovering from a sprained shoulder suffered. … Steelers receiver Antonio Brown sat out practice again Thursday as he continues to work through concussion protocol, though fellow wide receiver Martavis Bryant said Brown attended meetings Thursdsay. That suggests Brown is ready to begin stage 4 of the 5-stage concussion protocol, a return to practice. … Running back DeAngelo Williams also was out with a foot injury. … In addition to Roethlisberger, fullback Will Johnson (hamstring), safety Robert Golden (shoulder) and linebacker Vince Williams (hamstring) also were limited. … In addition to Osweiller, guard Robert Myers missed his second day of practice for the Broncos with an illness. … Cornerback Chris Harris (shoulder), safety Darian Stewart (hamstring), linebacker DeMarcus Ware (knee) and guard Max Garcia (groin) were limited for Denver.