Invisible hazards await the Broncos in Steelers game

Broncomaniacs see Pittsburgh's 2-3 record and start the countdown to the 5-1 mark they expect Denver to sport early Sunday night. Broncos coach Mike Shanahan sees danger.

Broncomaniacs see Pittsburgh was outscored 63-26 the past two Sundays and wonder how wide Denver's margin of victory will be.

Shanahan sees a trap.

Broncomaniacs see through orange-and-blue colored glasses, already anticipating next Sunday's showdown versus the unbeaten Minnesota Vikings.

Shanahan sees trouble.

"This game," Shanahan said after watching hours of game tape of the Steelers, "scares me more than any game we've played this year."

The Mile High City matchup determines whether Shanahan speaks fact or fiction. Fact is, when Pittsburgh does not turn over the football, it lines up a team as tough as its nickname.

When it does turn over the football -- something it has done regularly this season, as evidenced by its AFC-worst minus-4 turnover ratio -- the Steelers wilt against lesser teams.

When Pittsburgh beat Baltimore 34-15, quarterback Tommy Maddox did not throw any interceptions. When it lost at Kansas City 41-20, Maddox threw three. When it won at Cincinnati 17-10, Maddox threw one interception. And when it lost home games to Tennessee 30-13 and Cleveland 33-13, Maddox threw two in each game.

"We just need to put together a game where we can be consistent and get it rolling again," said Maddox, who returns to the city whose team made him a first-round draft pick from UCLA in 1992. "We're going to have to play a mistake-free game to come out of there with a victory."

It will not be easy -- not with a rushing attack that averages a paltry 83 yards per game and offensive tackles who would be backups on most any other team.

But this helps explain why these are the new un-Pittsburgh-like Steelers: throwing the ball more than they run it, finding trouble in unfamiliar spots and making life more difficult for their defensive teammates, rated No. 1 overall in the NFL.

"I think their offense really is, honestly, at the point where they are hurting them," Broncos wide receiver Rod Smith said, "because they are turning the ball over more than usual and putting their defense in some tough spots. That is how they have given up some points."

It also sets up today's showdown within the showdown. It is between Pittsburgh's trio of receivers, who some believe is the best in the league, and Denver's trio of receivers, who others believe is the best.

"They're good, they are," Broncos wide receiver Ashley Lelie said about Pittsburgh's trio. "But I just think we're better. Our trio can do a lot more than their trio. That's all I'm saying."

Pittsburgh lines up Hines Ward, who blocks with the same ferocity with which he catches the football and leads the NFL with 33 catches; Plaxico Burress, whose average of 16.1 yards per catch leads the AFC; and Antwaan Randle El, the newest and most effective slash in Pittsburgh.

Denver lines up Smith, whose team-high 23 catches match Burress' total; Ed McCaffrey, capable of big games and big catches at any time, though his numbers this season have not been what they were; and Lelie, Denver's top deep threat in years.

"You can make a case for Pittsburgh; you can make a case for us," said Broncos tight end Shannon Sharpe, who could be the wild card that gives Denver's receivers the edge. "But I like our guys.