It was a back and forth affair in Denver where ultimately the home team prevailed.
The Denver Broncos clinched a spot in the AFC Championship game after a 23-16 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers Sunday. They will now host the New England Patriots in a week’s time (3:05 PM ET, CBS) with two legendary quarterbacks in Peyton Manning and Tom Brady set to face off for a spot in Super Bowl 50. It’s the second time in three years these two teams have played each other for the conference title.
Here at Last Word on Sports, we’ll be handing out post game awards immediately after each NFL playoff game. In particular, we’ll be naming a game MVP, the most surprising performance, an unsung hero and the biggest disappointment.
Without further ado, let’s take a look at which players distinguished themselves (both good and bad) with their performance today.
Steelers vs. Broncos Post Game Awards
Game MVP
Brandon McManus
In a game that was marked by both defenses stepping up in and around the red zone, McManus needed to be on his A-game and he certainly pulled his weight when it mattered. The second-year kicker out of Temple hit on field goal attempts of 28, 41, 51, 41 and 45 yards. His five field goals tied an NFL postseason record for most in a single game.
McManus’ perfect day came as a bit of a surprise, especially considering that his 85.7 percent conversion percentage during the regular season was tied for 15th in the league. He was also a combined 10-15 on attempts of 40 yards or longer. What he was able to accomplish Sunday is a major reason the Broncos are playing for a spot in the Super Bowl next week.
Most Surprising Performance
Sammie Coates
Leading up to this game, much was made about Antonio Brown’s looming injury absence and how that would affect the Steelers pass game. In the end, they didn’t miss much of a beat despite the loss. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger threw for 339 yards and his favorite target of the day, Martavis Bryant, turned out to be the guy who picked up the slack in place of Brown. He finished with nine catches for 154 yards and would’ve likely been the game MVP had the Steelers pulled this one out.
But Bryant has been a regular contributor in the Pittsburgh receiving corps so him putting together an impressive performance wasn’t much of a surprise. The same can’t be said about Sammie Coates. Coming into this game, the rookie out of Auburn played in just six games and had a single reception all year. But he had two catches for 61 yards on Sunday including a 37 yard reception on third down that put the Steelers in Denver territory on their second possession of the first quarter. It was one of just two third down conversions for Pittsburgh on the day.
Unsung Hero
C.J. Anderson
Given the result of this game and Anderson’s part in making it happen, he was either going to be the MVP or unsung hero. I went with the latter given the historic nature of McManus’ day. Anderson’s numbers against the Steelers weren’t exactly eye-popping, but he came up big on the drive that ended up winning the Broncos the game. It was Anderson’s one-yard touchdown run with three minutes left in the game that gave Denver a lead they would never relinquish.
The third-year running back would end up finishing with 72 yards on 15 carries while adding 11 receiving yards. Unlike many of his receivers who suffered from a severe case of the drops at times, Anderson had a consistent, workmanlike performance that proved crucial in ensuring a Broncos victory. And in true unsung hero fashion, he also came up huge on the hands team in recovering an onside kick that brought out the victory formation to close out the game.
Biggest Disappointment
Fitzgerald Touissant
The Pittsburgh running game came into the postseason severely short-handed. This after DeAngelo Williams was ruled out of both playoff games with a foot injury sustained in the season finale against Cleveland. In their 18-16 win in the wild card round over Cincinnati, both Jordan Todman and Fitzgerald Touissant came up huge. Todman finished with 65 rushing yards, while Touissant had a total of 118 all-purpose yards including 60 receiving yards.
It was a different story a week later. Todman was completely ineffectual, managing just six yards off five carries. Touissant wasn’t much better. Even though he had the Steelers’ lone touchdown on the game, he had just 39 yards at 3.3 yards per carry and three catches for a mere two yards.
And what capped off a forgettable day for the second-year back out of Michigan was a crucial fumble in the fourth quarter. The Broncos would then march down the field on a 13-play, 65 yard drive that culminated with the eventual game-winning touchdown.
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