Brodrick Bunkley vs. the Pittsburgh interior
It seems to have flown very much under the radar, but Brodrick Bunkley (+28.4 run defense) has had a fantastic season as a run-stuffing nose tackle for the Broncos. He’s been one of the top defensive tackles against the run all year, and he can disrupt even the best rushing attacks if they try and run past his gap responsibility. The Steelers are still not sure if they can count on Maurkice Pouncey to start at center and even if he can, hampered by a bad ankle, that will be a matchup the Broncos would like their chances in. If Pouncey can’t start, the picture doesn’t get much better, with the Steelers lacking anybody they could reasonably expect to deal with Bunkley single-handedly. How Pittsburgh attempts to neutralize Bunkley play will be a crucial aspect of the Pittsburgh running game, especially as they are now deep into the bench at running back with injuries, the latest to starter Rashard Mendenhall