2011 Wild Card · Sun, Jan 8, 2012 · Sports Authority Field at Mile High
Pittsburgh Steelers
23
at
Denver BroncosWinner
29
PIT -7.5 upsetO 34 ✓
Denver Broncos 29–23.
Pre-2018 game — box score & context only; play-by-play visuals start in 2018
Who moved the needle
Top performers
Passing · DEN
10/21, 316 yds, 2 TD, 0 INT
18.2 expected points added · -2.7% completion over expected
Passing · PIT
22/40, 289 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
0.2 expected points added · -4.6% completion over expected
Receiving · DEN
4/7 for 204 yds, 1 TD
33% of team targets · 15.0 expected points added
Receiving · PIT
6/8 for 81 yds, 0 TD
20% of team targets · 5.3 expected points added
Full stat lines
Box score
Pittsburgh Steelers
Passing
| Player | C/Att | Yds | TD | INT | Sacked | EPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ben Roethlisberger | 22/40 | 289 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 0.2 |
Rushing
| Player | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | EPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Isaac Redman | 17 | 121 | 7.1 | 0 | 6.9 |
| Antonio Brown | 1 | 18 | 18.0 | 0 | 1.4 |
| Ben Roethlisberger | 3 | 15 | 5.0 | 0 | -1.9 |
| Mike Wallace | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 1 | 0.8 |
| John Clay | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 0 | -0.4 |
Receiving
| Player | Rec | Tgt | Yds | TD | Tgt share | EPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emmanuel Sanders | 6 | 8 | 81 | 0 | 20% | 5.3 |
| Antonio Brown | 5 | 7 | 70 | 0 | 18% | 2.2 |
| Heath Miller | 5 | 7 | 60 | 0 | 18% | 0.5 |
| Jerricho Cotchery | 1 | 2 | 31 | 1 | 5% | 2.1 |
| Mike Wallace | 3 | 10 | 26 | 0 | 25% | -4.0 |
| Isaac Redman | 2 | 2 | 21 | 0 | 5% | 0.9 |
| Hines Ward | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5% | -0.7 |
| David Johnson | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5% | -1.2 |
Defense (top contributors)
| Player | Solo | Ast | Sacks | INT | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ike Taylor | 6 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Lawrence Timmons | 5 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ryan Mundy | 5 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Troy Polamalu | 2 | 2 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| William Gay | 4 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 1 |
| Ziggy Hood | 4 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cameron Heyward | 3 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Steve McLendon | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| James Farrior | 3 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| James Harrison | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 1 |
Denver Broncos
Passing
| Player | C/Att | Yds | TD | INT | Sacked | EPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tim Tebow | 10/21 | 316 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 18.2 |
Rushing
| Player | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | EPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Willis McGahee | 19 | 61 | 3.2 | 0 | -9.6 |
| Tim Tebow | 10 | 50 | 5.0 | 1 | 3.4 |
| Lance Ball | 4 | 11 | 2.8 | 0 | -1.5 |
| Eric Decker | 1 | 9 | 9.0 | 0 | -0.3 |
Receiving
| Player | Rec | Tgt | Yds | TD | Tgt share | EPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Demaryius Thomas | 4 | 7 | 204 | 1 | 33% | 15.0 |
| Daniel Fells | 2 | 2 | 57 | 0 | 10% | 4.1 |
| Eddie Royal | 3 | 7 | 49 | 1 | 33% | 2.0 |
| Lance Ball | 1 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 10% | 0.5 |
| Eric Decker | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5% | -0.7 |
| Matt Willis | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5% | -1.8 |
| Dante Rosario | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5% | -0.7 |
Defense (top contributors)
| Player | Solo | Ast | Sacks | INT | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| David Bruton | 8 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 1 |
| Joe Mays | 5 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Quinton Carter | 5 | 0 | 0.0 | 1 | 1 |
| Chris Harris | 4 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| D.J. Williams | 5 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 2 |
| Champ Bailey | 3 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 3 |
| Von Miller | 3 | 0 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Andre' Goodman | 3 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Robert Ayers | 3 | 0 | 2.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Brodrick Bunkley | 2 | 0 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 |
Closing number vs result
Betting context
- Closing spread
- PIT -7.5
- Closing total
- 34
- PIT moneyline
- -335
- DEN moneyline
- +293
Steelers closed -7.5 and lost outright — an upset against the closing number.
Total closed 34; the game landed 52 — over by 18.0.
Conditions and crew
Game environment
- Venue
- Sports Authority Field at Mile High
- Roof / surface
- outdoors · grass
- Kickoff weather
- 40°F, wind 6 mph
- Referee
- Ron Winter
- Rest
- PIT 7 days · DEN 7 days
- Coaches
- Mike Tomlin vs John Fox