Denver Does It With Defense : Broncos: Pittsburgh is held to seven first downs and 170 total yards in 34-7 loss.

After two straight weeks of spotting the opposition a quick 14-0 lead, the Denver Broncos’ defense was having none of that generosity this time.

On the Pittsburgh Steelers’ first three possessions Sunday, they couldn’t manage a first down and gained only 20 yards.

The tone was set and, although the Broncos had to endure some anxious moments, they pulled away in the second half to a 34-7 romp.

The Steelers finished with only seven first downs and 170 total yards. It was the second time this year the Broncos held an opponent under 200 yards and the fifth time they held one under 300.

“Our defense played extremely hard,” Denver Coach Dan Reeves said. “We did not let them come out of the box and score on us right away and that was the key to the win.

“I was worried in the third quarter when they had the chance to possibly take the lead, but I think this team decided it wasn’t going to let them get back into the game.”

Reeves was referring to a Steeler drive that reached the Denver 22-yard line with the Broncos leading, 13-7. But on third-and-eight, defensive end Ron Holmes sacked Bubby Brister for a 13-yard loss, taking the Steelers out of field-goal range. Denver pushed across three touchdowns after that.

John Elway, shrugging off two early interceptions, passed and ran for touchdowns, including a 44-yard throw to a diving Vance Johnson with 4:22 left in the third quarter.

Elway ran two yards for a fourth-quarter touchdown following an aborted Steeler punt and rookie Bobby Humphrey ran for his second touchdown of the game with three minutes left.

Reeves called the fumbled punt “probably the biggest play of the game. It gave us good field position and allowed John to run the ball in on the first play.”

Midway through the final period, Steeler punter Harry Newsome couldn’t handle a high snap from center. He picked up his fumble but was tackled on the two-yard line by Steve Sewell. On the next play, Elway ran off the right side for the score.

With Gary Kubiak at quarterback, Denver went 55 yards on its next series for Humphrey’s second score of the day, a 12-yard run. Humphrey, who finished with 105 yards rushing, ran 22 yards for a first-quarter touchdown.

“This was such an important game for us,” Reeves said. “Five of our next seven games are on the road and we could not afford to give up this one.”