Lolley's Kickoff: Steelers vs. Broncos, 1:02 p.m. today

The first one is now out of the way, and now the Steelers will play their home opener today against the Broncos.

In front of no fans.

It’s certainly not what Ben Roethlisberger envisioned when he was rehabbing his way back from having three torn flexor tendons in his throwing elbow suffered last Sept. 15 in the 2019 home opener against the Seahawks. 

“When I got hurt and knowing I was going to come back, one of those things I was most excited about was running out of the tunnel at Heinz Field in front of our fans,” Roethlisberger said. “To not have that this time is going to be — I’m going to be a little disappointed. I know they will be there when it’s time."

Roethlisberger will have to settle for simply being back and playing football again at Heinz Field. After a shaky start, he looked sharp in the second half in last Monday night’s 26-16 victory over the Giants at MetLife Stadium.

Yet he still missed seeing some open receivers. That will continue to be a work in progress as he adjusts to playing in the NFL again.

The scary thing for opponents has to be the fact the Steelers scored 26 points last week – it would have been 27 if not for a missed Chris Boswell PAT – with Roethlisberger looking shaky for the first 20 or so minutes of that game. Remember, the Steelers scored 30 points combined in their final three games of 2019 with Devlin Hodges at quarterback.

And it was hardly a fully clean effort by the Steelers. Diontae Johnson muffed a punt early that led to a field goal by the Giants. Chris Boswell hit a kickoff out of bounds. Roethlisberger completed just four of his first nine passes. And James Conner had nine yards on six carries before exiting with an ankle injury.

There was plenty of room for improvement, something Mike Tomlin wants to see in Week 2.

"It was far from perfect from an execution standpoint and from a planning standpoint," Tomlin said. "We all have room for improvement, and I’m excited about doing that with a win."

It would be even more exciting to get to 2-0, especially considering the Steelers started last season 0-3 before rallying to get to 8-8 despite not having their starting quarterback for all but six quarters of the season.

The Broncos (0-1) will be attempting to avoid that start themselves, knowing that it will be an uphill climb in the AFC if they lose their first two games. They gave the Titans all they could handle in the other Monday night opener, losing 16-14.

Now, they travel to east on a short week to face an extremely motivated Roethlisberger.

"I don’t think his game has changed much at all. He’s still a great quarterback as we all know," Broncos head coach Vic Fangio said. "He’s a big man in the pocket. He can make all the throws starting with the quick game to all the deep throws. He’s courageous in the pocket. He’ll hang in there. He’ll move around, buy time. He commands their offense. They have in their past gone no huddle where he can call it at the line of scrimmage. In some shape or form the offense hasn’t changed a whole lot in the last 10 years. He’s the beneficiary of that in that he’s very confident and operates it very well.”

And a highly effective defense. The Steelers held the Giants' Saquon Barkley to 6 yards on 15 carries last week, something that certainly caught the eye of the Broncos, who also want to run the ball to make things easier on second-year quarterback Drew Lock.

"They’re playing very sound, fundamental football with a highly talented group," Fangio said. "They’ve worked very hard over the last couple of years through the draft and player acquisitions to upgrade their defense. They’ve achieved that. They’re solid across the board at all three levels with high draft picks and good players. You’re seeing the benefits of that from their perspective. They were one of the best defense in the league last year, had a good start last week. They’ll just probably keep playing that way."

But, like the Broncos, the Steelers are playing on a short week, as well. 

"We don’t have a lot of in-stadium game experience," said Mike Tomlin. "We have to be thoughtful about what we ask our guys to do and who we ask to do what all the while we have to collectively grow and get better. We need to assume that those we are competing against are doing similar things."

THE ESSENTIALS

• Who: Steelers (1-0) vs. Broncos (0-1)
• When: 1:02 p.m.
• Where: Heinz Field
• Forecast: 67 degrees, sunny
• TV: CBS, KDKA (local)
• Radio: 102.5 WDVE, ESPN Pittsburgh
• Streaming: Steelers Nation Radio
• Satellite: SiriusXM 99, Internet 826
• Boxscore: NFL Game Center
• Media notes: Steelers | Broncos

THE INJURY REPORT

Steelers: G David DeCastro (knee, out)

Broncos: LB Mark Barron (hamstring, out), RB Phillip Lindsay (toe, out), OT Garrett Bolles (elbow, questionable), WR Courtland Sutton (shoulder, questionable), WR Tyrie Cleveland (hip, questionable)

THE KEY VARIABLE

Without fans at Heinz Field, will the Steelers still hold their usual home field advantage? More importantly, will their defense still have its usual swagger?

The Steelers forced 22 of their league-best 36 turnovers at home last season. Of their league-best 54 sacks, 36 came at Heinz Field.

Can they have that same mojo in an empty stadium?

The Steelers held a mock game during training camp with the offense on one side of the field and the defense on the other to get a feel for what games would be like in an empty stadium. Noise was piped in. They even showed fans swirling Terrible Towels on the Jumbotron.

"In our mock game we did here, it definitely does have a home field-feel to it, as far as being able to drive in and be in your own locker room, the black jerseys and having all of the third-down sounds you're used to," Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt said. "They'll still play the towels twirling on the Jumbotron, things like that. The atmosphere won't be what we're used to, but it will still be nice to be at Heinz Field."

And Renegade? Will the Jumbotron still feature the song and accompanying video collage of big hits and plays made in previous games?

The song and video are typically played at some point in the fourth quarter when the Steelers need a defensive boost or big stop.

"I hope so. I hope at some point they play it," Watt said. "I always love watching the video and watching what new wrinkle they add to the video, all the explosive plays the defense and offense has. I know it will be different without fans, but it will be a reminder of what the atmosphere should be like. It will juice up the defense for sure."

Like the defense needs any additional juice.

The Steelers recorded three sacks and forced two turnovers last week against the Giants on the road. Now, they return home for their opener and face a second-year quarterback in Lock, who has made six career starts.

Lock hasn't been tested much in his first six starts, five last season and one this. He hasn't faced much in terms of top defenses, but the 2019 second-round draft pick, who was acquired when the Broncos traded picks acquired in a deal with the Steelers when they moved up to draft linebacker Devin Bush last year, hasn't made many mistakes.

He has averaged just 206 yards passing per game, but has been intercepted just three times while tossing eight touchdown passes. He's also been sacked just five times, including none last week in the Broncos' 16-14 loss to the Titans.

Lock uses his legs well, not necessarily to run, but escape pressure.

"He definitely looks to pass as he's rolling out," Watt said. "He's very effective with his legs and his arm."

That could cause the Steelers some issues, but they're accustomed to playing against mobile quarterbacks. In fact, they just faced one last week in the Giants' Daniel Jones.

The Steelers gave up some passing yards to Jones, but consistently harassed him and forced a couple of mistakes. And their main goal in the game was stopping Barkley.

The Broncos added former Chargers star Melvin Gordon to be their main ball carrier, but in two career games against the Steelers, he has 60 rushing yards on 23 carries, an average of 2.6 yards per attempt.

Another of the big matchups could be Bush, the Steelers' improving inside linebacker and 10th pick in last year's draft, against tight end Noah Fant, whom the Broncos selected with the first-round pick they received in return from Pittsburgh. Fant led the Broncos last week with five catches for 81 yards.

The Steelers, however, feel if they play their game, especially at home, they can handle whatever the Broncos can throw at them.

"We moved some people around, but for the most part, everybody is in the same spot," safety Minkah Fitzpatrick said of the Steelers defense. "You saw really good execution. We could have played better overall, but we had good communication and execution across the board. There are just some smaller details."

THE HISTORY LESSON

The Broncos had acquired the rights to John Elway from the Colts in 1983 after the young quarterback threatened to play baseball before agreeing to go to Baltimore. And after his debut that season against the Steelers, Denver might have felt like it had been snookered.

The Broncos opened the 1983 season in Pittsburgh to much fanfare Sept. 4, 1983. But Elway's day was a short one.

Playing the first half, Elway completed one of his eight passes for 14 yards with an interception, a fumble and was called for intentional grounding once. The Steelers sacked him four times for 26 yards in losses.

But the Steelers were undergoing some quarterback changes of their own. Terry Bradshaw had surgery on his elbow without the Steelers' knowledge in the offseason and wasn't ready to go in the season opener. That meant Cliff Stoudt was under center in this game for his second career start. And while his day was better than that of Elway, it wasn't by much.

Elway was pulled at halftime in favor of veteran Steve DeBerg, while Stoudt played the entire game, completing 18 of 32 passes for 217 yards while throwing three interceptions and being sacked four times. He didn't get a lot of offensive help, either, as the Steelers fumbled four times total, losing all four, including two by Franco Harris.

Still, the game was tied at 7-7 at the half, as the Broncos got on the board in the second quarter on a one-yard Sammy Winder touchdown run matched later in the quarter by a 4-yard run by Harris.

DeBerg entered in the third quarter, and while he wasn't all that much more effective, completing four of eight passes for 35 yards, it was his two-yard touchdown pass to Ron Egloff with 2:54 remaining in the game that was the difference in a 14-10 Denver win in which Elway got credit for his first career victory -- showing why quarterback wins can be deceptive.

The Broncos won despite posting just 139 yards of offense compared to 314 for the Steelers, who also were penalized 11 times for 121 yards while committing the seven turnovers.

Winder was the entire Denver offense, gaining 96 yards on 20 carries.

Harris was bottled up for the Steelers, gaining 27 yards on 14 carries, while Frank Pollard had five carries for 39 yards.

Nose tackle Gary Dunn led the Steelers, who would go on to finish 10-6, with 2.5 sacks, while Tom Beasley added one.

THE MAIN MATCHUP

Typically, a team being forced into starting two new offensive linemen in a game would be a cause for panic. In the case of the Steelers vs. Broncos, it's more like walking wounded against MASH unit.

The Steelers will be forced to start Chuks Okorafor at right tackle and rookie Kevin Dotson at right guard.

Okorafor will make his fifth-career start at right tackle, replacing Zach Banner, who tore his ACL against the Giants and is out for the season. Okorafor, whose first career start came as a rookie in 2018 in Denver, lost a training camp battle for the right tackle spot with Banner.

Dotson, meanwhile, will be under the microscope in his first career start. He'll be replacing Stefen Wisniewski, who was placed on injured reserve this week with a pectoral muscle injury. Wisniewski was already a replacement, starting in place of injured David DeCastro, who remains out with a knee injury.

"They didn’t have DeCastro last week either. I don’t think so," Fangio said if the changes would matter. "They’re going to run their offense. I’m sure they may consider that in the way they call the game or schematically what they do. Those guys are good players that are behind him, and I don’t see them changing their offense. Likewise, we can’t go and wholesale change our defense either.”

To Fangio's point, his defense is missing some of its star power. All-Pro outside linebacker Von Miller, who would have lined up across from Okorafor, suffered a season-ending ankle injury before the season began.

Then, cornerback A.J. Bouye, easily the Broncos' best coverage man, suffered a shoulder injury against the Titans Monday night and was placed on injured reserve this week.

But the Broncos figure to test the right side of that Steelers offensive line early to see how it holds up. But can they expect it to be a weakness?

"No. I was a reserve one time, and I was pretty damn good," Broncos defensive tackle Shelby Harris said. "You can’t really judge someone based off of where they are on the depth chart. You have to go in there and really play.”

The Steelers are hopeful regarding the young offensive linemen. The battle between Okorafor and Banner was close, while the team really liked Dotson's ability, particularly his run-blocking prowess. 

"He’s naturally really strong. I don’t know how better to say it," offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner said of Dotson. "He is just a naturally strong, tough-minded guy. The natural thing for him to do is get physical with somebody. Now, match the technique and fundamentals of a young player that makes his job so important and allows you to really achieve better and great successes at your position. Those are going to have to come with time. He is working hard, and he has been available. I’m excited for him to get his opportunity."

We'll see if he still feels the same way come 4 p.m. Sunday.

THE TEN DATA POINTS

• Since the start of the 2015 season, the Steelers are 13-1 straight up and 9-5 against the spread when favored at home by six or more points. They opened favored by 6 1/2 points and quickly moved to 7 1/2.

• Roethlisberger was three of six for 67 yards on throws of 15 or more yards downfield last week against the Giants.

• The Broncos have lost six consecutive games in September and are 2-4 against the spread in those games.

• JuJu Smith-Schuster ran 30 of his team-high 36 pass routes last week from the slot last week, catching six passes for 69 yards. The Broncos allowed six catches for 62 yards to Titans' slot receivers last week.

• The Steelers are 15-4 all-time in home openers at Heinz Field, which opened in 2001, but they have lost their last two.

• The Steelers are 37-29 all-time the week after playing on Monday Night Football, including having won six of their past eight such games.

• This game features the two teams with the most regular season home wins in the NFL since the 1970 merger. The Steelers have won 278 games. The Broncos have won 266.

• Roethlisberger and Tomlin need one win to move past Dan Marino and Don Shula for third-most wins by a quarterback-coach duo in league history with 117. Drew Brees and Sean Payton (134) are second with 134, while Tom Brady and Bill Belichick are first with 219.

• Roethlisberger needs 250 passing yards to move past Eli Manning (57,023) into seventh place on the all-time passing yardage list.

• Mike Hilton's sack last week gave him 7.5 since 2017. That's the third most by a defensive back over that time.

THE FANTASY CORNER

We didn't get off to a good start last week as Tyrod Taylor, James Conner and Boston Scott all struggled, with both Conner and Scott leaving early with injuries. It all added up to 83.62 points. As I did last year, I'm going to build a fantasy lineup using Draft Kings and a $50,000 salary cap.

Quarterback: Matt Ryan, Falcons ($6,600) -- Ryan is going to have to put up 400 yards each week for the Falcons to have any shot of winning.

Running back: Dalvin Cook, Vikings ($7,600), Austin Ekeler, Chargers ($6,500) -- The Colts defense wasn't very impressive last week and the Vikings are going to have to lean on their running game to make things go. Ekeler was OK last week, but the Chargers didn't throw him the ball in a game that was played at a slow pace. They'll be losing against the Chiefs. He's going to have to change that.

Wide receiver: Keenan Allen, Chargers ($5,700), Diontae Johnson, Steelers (4,500), Anthony Miller, Bears ($5,200) -- Allen was quiet last week but has had some great games over the years against the Chiefs. And the Chargers won't be able to play conservative this week. Johnson got a team-high 10 targets last week against the Giants. He's way undervalued here. Miller is very much like Johnson in terms of skill set. And we saw Johnson win his matchups against the Giants defense. Miller will do the same.

Tight end: Jared Cook, Saints ($5,300) -- Like Sanders, Cook will benefit greatly from Michael Thomas not playing. And he's facing his former team, which is terrible in the secondary.

Flex: Jonathan Taylor, Colts ($5,700) -- With Marlon Mack done for the year, Taylor should get plenty of touches this week. This will be his last week at bargain prices.

Defense: Rams ($2,800) -- The Eagles' line is a mess, having given up eight sacks last week to Washington. Aaron Donald and company should cause plenty of issues.

Our football staff predicts the game:

Dale Lolley (1-0): The Steelers are a little banged up on the offensive line. But the Broncos have been hit even harder by injuries before this season even began, losing star Von Miller. That only got worse last week, when Bouye was lost and placed on IR. Lock will be making just his seventh career start, so he's essentially still a rookie. The Steelers' defense should force him into some mistakes, much the same way they did with Jones last week. And the offensive line, even with Dotson at guard, should more than hold its own. Steelers, 24-10

Christopher Carter (1-0): T.J. Watt noted earlier in the week how the Steelers were keyed in to stop Barkley, but this week they're facing a much lesser threat in Gordon. Why does that matter? Because defensive linemen and edge rushers use different moves when focusing on the run than when they want to rush the quarterback. That means Watt and Bud Dupree will be free to rush off the edges and will get to abuse either left tackle Garrett Bolles, who struggles every week, or his backup, who can't be any better. Watch out, Lock. Steelers, 31-13

Ramon Foster (1-0): I can see, with the Broncos' defense being a bit depleted, Ben spreading that ball around. Hey, he tossed up three touchdowns against the Giants like it was nothing. And I think this Denver defense is lesser than New York's defense. For that matter, the way the Steelers' defense is going, they might score, too. That pressure is real. I know Bud didn't get a sack, but he made the big play and, if someone other than Cam Heyward catches that ball, that's a house call. (No disrespect to Cam!) Steelers, 31-7

Tom Reed (1-0): For anyone who stayed up to watch Titans-Broncos after the Steelers' win Monday night, those are three hours of your life you won't be getting back. That was a bad game, featuring terrible clock management by Fangio at the end of it. The Steelers have an excellent chance to go to 2-0 against a second-straight young quarterback. The right side of the Steelers offensive line is a concern, but not enough to trouble them in this game. Steelers, 27-10

Dejan Kovacevic (1-0): Here again, like last week, the outcome can be condensed to a single prominent factor: The Steelers' defense in pin-the-ears-back mode versus a baby-faced quarterback. Lock's shown precision and creativity early in his career. He's promising. There's a reason John Elway and Co. are entrusting the franchise's future to him. But that won't matter a whit, when Bud, T.J., Cam and all of the walls come caving down on him. The home team will have issues protecting their own quarterback but it won't be comparable. Steelers, 34-16