First Look: Pittsburgh Steelers

Record: 5-2
Streak: Won 4, bye
Series vs. Denver: Broncos, 13-6-1
Last time: Broncos, 31-28, 2007
The Line: Steelers by 3

Who’s hot: QB Ben Roethlisberger. Big Ben is having a career year. Months after overcoming pass protection issues to win a Super Bowl, Roethlisberger continues to overcome his offensive line, completing 70.4 percent of his passes for a whopping 102.6 passer rating. In his last three games, Ben has thrown six touchdowns to two interceptions despite getting sacked ten times. Ben was never a quarterback who had to win pretty — he just won, but there’s nothing ugly about the way he’s winning in 2009.

Who’s not: The Steelers have really come on of late, so it’s hard to pick anything here. While the ground game isn’t as dominating as it used to be, new starting RB Rashard Mendenhall is averaging 5.4 yards per carry. We’ll give this to K Jeff Reed. Reed missed three field goals in Pittsburgh’s Week 2 and 3 losses — losses of three points each. He was also cited for driving intoxicated just a few weeks ago. In what could be another close Steelers-Broncos battle, blistery Denver weather could be a factor in the Steelers’ unsure kicking game.

Matchup to watch: Ben Roethlisberger vs. Elvis Dumervil. I’m dead serious. “Big Ben” is just that — big — while Dumervil is one of the smaller pass rushers in the league. Dumervil has always had success against Roethlisberger, though, tallying three sacks in two career games against the Steelers (two in 2007, one as a rookie in 2006). But there was something deflating (and potentially foreshadowing) about Joe Flacco‘s ability to continually escape pressure and make plays downfield against the Broncos defense. The Pittsburgh O-Line is a sieve, and Dumervil will get his chances. Will he be able to take the big, quick QB down?