Freeman fairly quiet in Denver’s win over Pittsburgh
D
ENVER — A rookie running back excelled Sunday in the Denver Broncos’ 24-17 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers. Unfortunately, it was not the rookie running back most Imperial Valley football fans are rooting for.
Imperial High School alumnus Royce Freeman managed only 17 yards on six carries for the Broncos. Instead, it was fellow rookie Phillip Lindsay who shined, scoring the game-winning touchdown and gaining 110 yards on 14 carries.
Nose tackle Shelby Harris picked off Ben Roethlisberger’s 2-yard pass to Antonio Brown in the end zone with 1:03 remaining to seal the win for Denver, snapping the Steelers’ sixgame winning streak.
“I never thought in a million years a defensive lineman would get blocked off the ball that far, right into an interception,” Pittsburgh QB Ben Roethlisberger said. “But, good play by him. A.B. was coming, I just never thought that guy would make that play.”
The Broncos (5-6) used four takeaways to counter a 97-yard touchdown toss from Roethlisberger to JuJu Smith-Schuster. Roethlisberger was 41 of 56 for 462 yards, but he was intercepted twice and the Steelers (73-1) lost two fumbles.
Cornerback Bradley Roby and safety Darian Stewart were burned on Smith-Schuster’s long touchdown grab in the third quarter, but they made up for it when they teamed up on the final play of the third quarter for Denver’s third takeaway.
Roby forced James Connor to cough up the football after a 23-yard gain and Stewart recovered it at the Denver 21.
The Broncos then went 79 yards in 11 plays with Lindsay taking it in from 2 yards to break a 17-17 tie.
Although Freeman is still listed as the Broncos’ starter at running back, it has been Lindsay, an undrafted free agent out of the University of Colorado, who has gotten the lion’s share of the work in recent weeks.
Part of that is due to an ankle injury that kept the Valley native out of Denver’s Oct. 28 and Nov. 4 contests against Kansas City and Houston, respectively. However, it’s hard to argue Lindsay hasn’t been making the most of his opportunities. Through 11 games this season, he’s gained 780 yards on 135 carries for a whopping 5.78 yards per carry. He’s also scored seven touchdowns (six rushing, one receiving) and picked up 187 receiving yards on 24 catches.
Freeman, meanwhile, has 349 rushing yards for the season on 84 carries, which works out to a respectable 4.15 yards per carry. He also has five rushing touchdowns and 28 yards receiving.
Sunday, Freeman and the Broncos travel to Cincinnati to face the league’s worst defense.