Big Ben, Steelers Strike in Second Half

DENVER -- Maybe it took two quarters of getting acclimated to the Denver altitude, or perhaps the rust of a bye week left the Pittsburgh Steelers a bit sluggish out of the gate Monday night. But when the Steelers' defense and quarterback Ben Roethlisberger hit the field re-energized in the second half of what became a lopsided AFC battle against the Broncos, they hardly let the home team touch the football.

Roethlisberger threw three second-half touchdowns, the Steelers defense forced two of Kyle Orton's three interceptions, and Pittsburgh played its most complete 30 minutes of football this season, ultimately rolling to a 28-10 victory over the Broncos at a stunned Invesco Field.

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"It was a tale of two halves," said Roethlisberger, who finished the night completing 21 of 29 passes for 233 yards and the three scores -- he also tossed a second-half interception -- but couldn't get his offense to sustain a drive beyond six plays in a sluggish first half. Pittsburgh led the Broncos 7-3 at the break. "The first half we didn't give our defense much rest, but we were able to keep them off the field in the second half."

And how. The Steelers (6-2) dominated time of possession in the second half, limiting Denver (6-2) to only 7:41 of offense in the final two quarters.

"We just kept pounding," Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said of his team's overpowering second-half performance. Tomlin is now 5-0 as a head coach on Monday nights.

With the victory, the Steelers became the third team this decade to reach 100 regular-season wins, joining the Indianapolis Colts (109) and the New England Patriots (108).

And they did it in large part with their opportunistic defense. Pittsburgh attacked Orton and converted two of his turnovers into quick touchdowns -- one, a 48-yard interception return to the end zone by safety Tyrone Carter; the other, a four-play touchdown drive following Troy Polamalu's fourth-quarter pick.

Not that Big Ben was perfect -- the Broncos forced a strip-sack in the third quarter at the Denver 46-yard line, and rookie linebacker Robert Ayers scooped up the loose ball for a 54-yard return and touchdown. Moments later, Denver cornerback Andre' Goodman intercepted Roethlisberger. Both were the kinds of plays that make some Steelers fans groan.

"In the second half we went to a no-huddle, and they only stopped us when we stopped ourselves when we had a fumble and an interception," Roethlisberger said.

One key for Pittsburgh in maintaining its amazing second-half ball control: The explosive play of second-year running back Rashard Mendenhall, who rushed for 155 yards on 22 carries.

"We feel like we have a balanced offense," Mendenhall said. "We feel like we can do whatever we need to do to win."

And rookie receiver Mike Wallace came up big Monday night, as well, making tough catches at his feet and finishing with 69 yards on four receptions, including a 25-yard scoring catch.

"He grows every week and keeps getting better," Roethlisberger said of Wallace, a third-round pick out of Mississippi. "He keeps improving on the little things that you don't expect a rookie to improve on."

Denver coach Josh McDaniels said Pittsburgh's second-half no-huddle scheme allowed the Steelers to develop some rhythm in the short passing game, which also helped the rushing attack find holes.

"Ultimately, Roethlisberger did a nice job of getting the ball to people that needed it, and they stayed balanced," said McDaniels, who got a combined 27 yards from his running back tandem of Correll Buckhalter and Knowshon Moreno. "We didn't."