Steelers Have The Edge Over Broncos In Week 2: 'There's Lots Of Obstacles That Going To Have To Go Through'

The Pittsburgh Steelers have September 15th circled on their calendar this year after the 2024 NFL season schedule was released on Wednesday. In Week 2 of the regular season, the Steelers will be traveling to Mile High City to face off against the Denver Broncos in what will be a revenge game for the team's new quarterback, Russell Wilson. The Pittsburgh and Denver battle will be one of the most anticipated matchups early on in the season, and the Steelers have the edge to come out with the win according to one former Broncos running back.

The Steelers, who finished with a 10-7 record in 2023, will be facing a Broncos team that barely snuck away with eight wins last season. The last time the two faced off was in Week 5 of the 2021 season, where Pittsburgh protected their home field by defeating Denver with a score of 27-19. Both teams were significantly different at the time, as the quarterback matchup was Ben Roethlisberger versus Teddy Bridgewater.

Wilson will be returning to Denver after an ugly breakup involving he and Head Coach Sean Payton. After playing one season without and one season with Payton, the Broncos decided to release Wilson in the midst of a five-year contract worth over $240 million. Pittsburgh was able to scoop up Wilson, essentially for free, for the veteran league minimum of $1.2 million. While Wilson spends a season as Pittsburgh's quarterback, Denver will still be paying him nearly $40 million. 

Wilson will be heading back to Denver in Week 2, with vengeance and aspirations of defeating Payton and the Broncos while they continue to pay him. Former Broncos running back Phillip Lindsay, who spent three seasons with Denver (2018-2020), was on Denver's 104.3 The Fan this week and explained why he believes Pittsburgh has the upper hand in the matchup. 

"You've got Russell Wilson coming back here. Sean Payton may try to out out-coach himself. Bo Nix, his second game if he's a starter. Our first home game. There's lots of obstacles that Bo's going to have to go through, that Sean's going to have to go through. You're playing against a coach that has been doing this for a long time, just like Sean, but he's more established because he's been with the same team forever. So I think that's going to be the Pittsburgh Steelers."

Like Lindsay mentioned, rookie quarterback Bo Nix is expected to be the starter, and boy, facing the Pittsburgh Steelers defense for your first home standing is just brutal. It would be a complete shock to Steeler Nation if the Steelers didn't come away with this one, but you never know with the Steelers. 

By no means will it be an easy win for Pittsburgh. Payton is a highly regarded, well respected head coach in the NFL and will have his Broncos team ready to play for their home opener. However, Lindsay gave a great point that Head Coach Mike Tomlin has more cohesiveness with his current team, given that he has been their 17 straight years and has never had a losing season. 

Another important factor to keep in mind is the Steelers' schedule. By this point, we are all aware of the tough stretch the Steelers face after their bye week. There's no doubt that Pittsburgh will keep that in the back of their heads the entire season, which will only make each and every game before the bye week just as crucial. Pittsburgh can ill afford to be giving away wins early, like they typically do each year. All of these reasons point to a Steelers victory in the revenge matchup of Wilson and Payton, which will probably mean more down the road than we realize.

Steelers Have Another Revenge Game Ahead Of Denver 

To kick off the season, Pittsburgh will be traveling to play the Atlanta Falcons where new Offensive Coordinator Arthur Smith just finished his head coaching job. Smith spent the past three seasons as Atlanta's head coach, and only brought them to seven wins each year. Smith was never able to produce a whole ton of talent while he was there, especially at quarterback. Now, Smith returns to play the Falcons and looks to show them why they shouldn't have let him go.

A revenge tour of back to back weeks to kick off the 2024 season could be the spark the Steelers need in order to get ahead in the win column. Two winnable games that will mean a lot to guys like Smith and Wilson could connect a nice bond between the offensive coordinator and the quarterback as they get closer to October and November football.