Pittsburgh Steelers (11-6) at Denver Broncos (12-4) Sunday, 4:40 p.m. ET on CBS STEELERS AT A GLANCE How they got here: The Steelers are survivors. They seemed dead going into Week 17, but a New York Jets loss allowed them to make the playoffs. They looked finished when the Cincinnati Bengals intercepted Landry Jones with 1:36 left in a wild-card game, but a crazy turn of events that included Jeremy Hill's fumble, Ben Roethlisberger's dramatic return from injury and a couple incredibly bad penalties by the Bengals allowed the Steelers to steal a win. The problem for the Steelers now is just getting healthy, with Roethlisberger, receiver Antonio Brown and running back DeAngelo Williams all banged up. Brown is out, Williams is trending that way and we have no idea how well Roethlisberger can throw with a shoulder injury, if he plays. Key player: I don't have any idea how a quarterback can play an NFL game with a sprained AC joint and torn ligaments in his throwing shoulder, but Roethlisberger got off the bench to lead a game-winning drive with those issues, and he hasn't been ruled out for this week's game. I think anyone would bet on Roethlisberger, one of the NFL's toughest players, trying to play. But can he throw downfield, or have decent velocity on any of his passes? If he can't play, Landry Jones steps in. Jones has had some decent moments this season but it's asking a lot for him to play well on the road in the playoffs against a defense that ranked first in the NFL in yards allowed, passing yards allowed and sacks. Why they’ll win: If Roethlisberger can play at a reasonable level, the Steelers have enough depth at the skill positions that they still have capable weapons even without Brown and presumably without Williams. As long as Roethlisberger is in the starting lineup and can reasonably function, Pittsburgh has an offense that can put up points. And the defense is capable of making plays. Why they’ll lose: It's impossible to underestimate the loss of Brown. If you ranked him as the best non-quarterback in the NFL, it's not crazy. The Broncos' fantastic secondary can concentrate on shutting down everyone else without devoting so many resources to slowing down Brown. Oh, and the Steelers have a quarterback who says he has torn ligaments in his throwing shoulder. That can't be a positive. The offense won't be at full strength, and offense is what makes the Steelers dangerous. Keep in mind: The Steelers scored 34 points in a Dec. 20 meeting against the Broncos. Denver's top-ranked defense didn't allow 30 or more to any other team. So Pittsburgh will feel it can move the ball on Sunday. Though, of course, those 34 points came from a Steelers offense that was a lot healthier. BRONCOS AT A GLANCE How they got here: The Broncos went from being in danger of making the playoffs to the No. 1 seed in the span of a little more than a week. Going into Week 16, there was a scenario in which the Broncos would have been out of the playoffs with a loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. But the Broncos beat the Bengals in overtime, then got a break when the New England Patriots lost in Week 17 to the Miami Dolphins. With the help of quarterback Peyton Manning off the bench, the Broncos beat the San Diego Chargers in the regular-season finale and got the AFC's No. 1 seed. The Broncos have had a top-two seed in the AFC each of the last four seasons, which is a heck of a nice run. Last week the Broncos answered a huge question by naming Manning their starter for the divisional round. Key player: While all eyes are on Manning, he needs help. Demaryius Thomas is the key. Thomas has had a bit of a disappointing season as he has struggled with drops. But he still had 105 catches, 1,304 yards and six touchdowns with less-than-stellar quarterback play. Thomas has the ability to take over a game, and you have to figure that the tunnel screens the Broncos prefer will be a big part of the game plan this week. The Broncos offense isn't great, but Thomas can provide a few big plays that will make all the difference. Why they’ll win: The Broncos have the best defense in the league, home-field advantage and a running game that can get hot and carry the offense. It's hard to imagine Manning having a huge game, based on what we've seen this season, but Denver might not need it. They will need Manning to be mistake-free, and let the defense and its top-shelf pass rush carry the day. Why they’ll lose: Denver has been inconsistent, and that's a reflection of its quarterback play. It's possible we look back on the decision to go to Manning as the wrong one, after he posted a ghastly 67.9 rating in the regular season. The defense also has some questions after the Steelers did very well against them in the first meeting. But even if the defense plays very well, the Broncos need something out of the offense. And imagine the reaction if Manning goes one-and-done against a beat-up Roethlisberger (or, heaven forbid, Landry Jones) this weekend. Keep in mind: We have no idea what to expect from Manning. He hasn't started a game since Nov. 15. He hasn't posted a positive touchdown-to-interception ratio in a game since Sept. 27. Was it injuries holding him back? That's what the Broncos are banking on. However, this season looked like a continuation of his struggles from last season, which included a bad playoff game in a loss to the Colts. Manning started and finished eight games this season and had at least 35 attempts in six of them, and that seems like a recipe for a loss for Denver. But who knows? Maybe attempting only nine passes over two months will mean Manning is fresh and sharp for one final playoff push. OUTLOOK How do you predict this game? Will it be a reasonably healthy Roethlisberger, or a shell of the Steelers quarterback? Or will we see Jones handing off to Fitzgerald Toussaint and Jordan Todman? We already know the Steelers will be without Brown, and that's a massive blow. And then it's impossible to predict how Manning will play. The one thing we do know in this game is that the Broncos defense is nasty. Even though the Steelers played very well in the first meeting, the Broncos were very thin at safety because of injuries. Denver's defense will be better this time around, especially since the Steelers' offense will be far from 100 percent, and that will be enough to carry a Broncos win. More on Steelers-Broncos matchup - - - - - - - Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdown.corner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @YahooSchwab
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