Steelers matchups to watch: Week 2 (DEN) – Alex Highsmith vs. Garett Bolles

Alex Highsmith could have a huge game against the Broncos.

One matchup that has the ability to completely shift the Steelers’ Week 2 game in their favor would be Alex Highsmith versus the Broncos’ left tackle, Garett Bolles.  Highsmith is one of the most underrated edge rushers in the game, no thanks to the inclusion of T.J. Watt opposite of him, but consistently puts up great pass-rush numbers.  Bolles also has an elite player on the opposite side of him in McGlinchey, but how does he hold his own on the offensive line?

Unlike his fellow right tackle, left tackle Garett Bolles struggled mightily in his Week 1 seasonal debut.  He wasn’t effective at opening up lanes in the run game, and he certainly didn’t do Bo Nix any favors by keeping the pressure off him.  On 37 passing snaps, Bolles allowed a whopping five pressures.

Highsmith, who is excellent in run defense and passrush, will look to key in on his opposition’s weaknesses.  The Seahawks will not be necessarily known for having an elite passrush this season, but were still able to take advantage of Bolles.  Highsmith going up against Garett Bolles this Sunday will look more like a bull in a china shop than an equal matchup.

There are few positional matchups that the Pittsburgh Steelers can lean heavily on to disrupt the football game this week, however, the Broncos’ right tackle is one of those advantageous positions.  The Pittsburgh Steelers will look to add another win to their 1-0 start and fans will want to key in on matchups like this one, at 4:25 pm EST, September 15th.

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Steelers Week 2 injury report: Offensive line gets boost during practice

Here’s a look at the Pittsburgh Steelers injury report, including Russell Wilson, following Thursday’s practice.

The Pittsburgh Steelers released their second injury report for their Week 2 matchup against the Denver Broncos.

Good news about offensive tackle Dan Moore Jr. (ankle). After some concern about whether he’d be healthy enough to suit up on Sunday, Moore did practice fully on Thursday after being limited on Wednesday.

Here’s a look at the full injury report for the Steelers and Broncos after Thursday’s practice:

Pittsburgh Steelers

Player Injury Wednesday Thursday Friday Game status
QB Russell Wilson calf LP LP
WR Roman Wilson ankle LP FP
CB Darius Rush concussion LP LP
OT Dan Moore Jr. ankle DNP FP
G Isaac Seumalo pectoral DNP DNP
DL Larry Ogunjobi knee LP FP
DL Cam Heyward NIR DNP

DNP: Did not practice

LP: Limited participation 

FP: Full participation

NIR: Not injury related


Denver Broncos

Player Injury Wednesday Thursday Friday Game status
T Garrett Bolles calf DNP TBA
WR Josh Reynolds Achilles DNP TBA
WR Devaughn Vele ribs DNP TBA
OT Dan Moore Jr. ankle DNP TBA
C Luke Wattenberg ankle DNP TBA
OLB Jonah Elliss knee LP TBA

DNP: Did not practice

LP: Limited participation 

FP: Full participation

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Who starts at QB for the Steelers vs the Broncos?

Cast your vote and let us know who is starting this week.

For a second straight week, the Pittsburgh Steelers are stuck making a decision about who their starting quarterback will be. Last week the Steelers started Justin Fields over Russell Wilson thanks to Wilson’s calf injury.

It’s not Thursday of the following week and with just days to the Steelers taking on the Denver Broncos, they find themselves at that same crossroads. It isn’t clear what Wilson’s health status is, Pittsburgh could be waiting until the last minute to name a starting quarterback again.

Fields’ debut with the Steelers wasn’t exactly spectacular but Fields took care of the football and led the team to a win over the Atlanta Falcons in Week One. A second start could allow him to open things up a little more and put some points on the board. This might create a legitimate quarterback competition in Pittsburgh going forward if the Steelers can start the season 2-0 with Fields starting.

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Steelers rookie getting 1st-team reps at Wednesday practice

The Steelers had rookie Troy Fautanu getting first-team reps in place of Dan Moore Jr. on Wednesday.

On Wednesday, we saw the return of rookie offensive tackle Troy Fautanu. With starting left tackle Dan Moore Jr. dealing with an ankle injury, Fautanu took first-team reps at right tackle and Broderick Jones moved over the left tackle in Moore’s spot.

The Steelers selected Fautanu in the first round of the 2024 NFL draft with the intention of him battling for the starting right tackle spot. This would allow Jones, the team’s first-round pick in 2023 to move to his natural position of left tackle.

However, a knee injury sidelined Fautanu and delayed the process. Now with Fautanu healthy, we could see him in the starting lineup this week against the Denver Broncos.

https://twitter.com/bepryor/status/1833951561711587694

If Fautanu starts on Sunday, he will be the second rookie offensive lineman for the Steelers. Pittsburgh plugged rookie center Zach Frazier into the starting lineup after Nate Herbig’s injury sent him to IR during the preseason.

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Steelers Week 2 injury report: Offensive line takes another hit

Here’s a look at the Pittsburgh Steelers injury report, including Russell Wilson, following Wednesday’s practice.

The Pittsburgh Steelers released their initial injury report for their Week 2 matchup versus the (0-1) Denver Broncos.

Offensive tackle Dan Moore Jr., who played an outstanding game in Atlanta, is dealing with an ankle injury and did not practice.

Here’s a look at the full injury report for the Steelers following Wednesday’s practice:

Pittsburgh Steelers

Player Injury Wednesday Thursday Friday Game status
QB Russell Wilson calf LP
WR Roman Wilson ankle LP
CB Darius Rush concussion LP
OT Dan Moore Jr. ankle DNP
G Isaac Seumalo pectoral DNP
DL Larry Ogunjobi knee LP

DNP: Did not practice

LP: Limited participation 

FP: Full participation


Denver Broncos

 

Player Injury Wednesday Thursday Friday Game status
T Garrett Bolles calf DNP
WR Josh Reynolds Achilles DNP
WR Devaughn Vele ribs DNP
OT Dan Moore Jr. ankle DNP
C Luke Wattenberg ankle DNP
OLB Jonah Elliss knee LP

DNP: Did not practice

LP: Limited participation 

FP: Full participation

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Announcers set for Steelers vs. Broncos Week 2 game

Announcers are set for the Pittsburgh Steelers-Denver Broncos Week 2 matchup.

The Pittsburgh Steelers (1-0) will battle Russell Wilson‘s former Denver Broncos (0-1) team on Sunday in the late window.

The Steelers’ Week 2 game will air on CBS at 4:25 ET. The television commentators are Spero Dedes (play-by-play), Adam Archuleta (analyst) and Aditi Kinkhabwala (reporter).

The Steelers are coming off an 18-10 win over the Atlanta Falcons, where the offense sputtered and the only points came from the leg of AFC special teams player of the week, Chris Boswell. The ever-reliable defense held Atlanta to 10 points in the first half, blanking them in the second.

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Steelers vs. Broncos: Pick the winner of Week 2

The Pittsburgh Steelers take on the Denver Broncos in Week 2 of the 2024 NFL season.

After a non-convincing Week 1 victory, the Pittsburgh Steelers head to Denver to take on the 0-1 Broncos to try to do it again.

BetMGM has the odds for this week’s game with the Steelers as 2.5-point favorites. Quarterback Bo Nix looked pretty rough in his rookie debut last week, and with the Steelers’ defense playing the way it is, it’s hard to imagine he’ll have it any better this week.

Short of something miraculous, the Steelers will struggle to score points whether it’s Russell Wilson or Justin Fields at the helm. The defense will, once again, be expected to keep a lid on the opponent. It’s just how they roll.

Cast your vote and tell us who you think will win this week.

 

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Gimme him: One player the Steelers would steal from the Broncos

Denver Broncos wide receiver Courtland Sutton would make an excellent addition to the Pittsburgh Steelers offense.

As anticipated, tight end Pat Freiermuth was the second most-targeted receiver for the Pittsburgh Steelers in their Week 1 win against the Atlanta Falcons.

It’s likely to be the same again this week when the Steelers travel to Denver to take on the Broncos unless a wide receiver steps up and shows out.

Here at Steelers Wire, we’re conducting a fun weekly exercise where we hypothetically steal one player from the opponent to help bolster this current roster. Last week, it was Drake London, and this week, it’s Courtland Sutton, who Pittsburgh was rumored to be interested in this offseason.

Standing at 6-foot-4, Sutton would give Justin Fields another towering option to pair with George Pickens. In 2023, Sutton was responsible for nearly half of Russell Wilson‘s 26 touchdowns.

A red zone target of Sutton’s size and talent could be tremendous for the passing game, as the Steelers went 0-2 inside the 20.

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Wide receiver linked to Steelers is ‘waiting on’ Joey Porter Jr.

Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said Courtland Sutton is waiting on the prime matchup with cornerback Joey Porter Jr.

There’s a particular wide receiver who was linked to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the offseason that Mike Tomlin says is “waiting on” the prime matchup with Joey Porter Jr.

After praising Porter’s performance versus Atlanta Falcons’ Drake London, Tomlin had this to say about his next opponent, Denver Broncos’ Courtland Sutton:

I’m sure there’s a gentleman named Courtland Sutton that’s waiting on him in Denver. That’s the battle of playing corner in this league, but again he loves it, and I’m glad that he does.

Just as Porter craves the matchup with top wideouts, they crave the challenge of going up against lockdown corners, and Porter has been just that for the Steelers.

In Atlanta on Sunday, Kirk Cousins shied away from Porter, and for good reason — his coverage was outstanding. In the lone Porter target, he allowed a seven-yard catch but was right on top of him, so London was taken down immediately for no YAC.

Sutton, a once-thought Steelers target after sending Diontae Johnson to the Carolina Panthers, had four receptions for 38 yards in Denver’s 26-20 loss to the Seattle Seahawks.

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Steelers HC Mike Tomlin: ‘Speculation is a waste of time’ on Russell Wilson

Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin doesn’t want to speculate whether Russell Wilson will be starting versus the Denver Broncos.

As the Pittsburgh Steelers prepare for the Denver Broncos, Mike Tomlin‘s approach to the quarterback situation is no different than Week 1.

Once Russell Wilson reported calf aggravation on Thursday, it was immediately next-man-up in Tomlin’s mind — Justin Fields became the focus of practice and game planning.

At the top of his Broncos preview press conference, Tomlin shared that Wilson feels better now than he did over the weekend but doesn’t know what that means.

As usual, Wilson’s level of participation this week will dictate his playing status for Sunday, but the Steelers will prepare as if Fields will start in Denver.

Tomlin refused to speculate whether Wilson would regain starter status once healthy.

“Speculation is a waste of time,” Tomlin said. “Russell’s hurt. He’s not available to us. As you guys know, as a general practice, I focus my energy on those that are available and their readiness.”

Tomlin is excited about “maybe” going through a complete week with Fields at the helm. He did not take first-team reps until the second day of practice last week.

Wilson is scheduled to be a limited participant in the Steelers’ first practice for the Broncos tomorrow.

Even if Tomlin knows who is starting, it’ll likely not be officially revealed until inactive players are announced at 3 p.m. on Sunday.

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