The Denver Broncos are preparing for a critical game against the Pittsburgh Steelers as Brock Osweiler is hoping to play well enough to keep the starting quarterback job even when Peyton Manning returns. He will need all of the help that he can get as the Steelers are on a real roll heading into the final three games of the year. With injuries becoming an issue, the Broncos were happy to see the return of CJ Anderson.
According to the Denver Post, Anderson returned to practice on Thursday with the expectation that he would play in Week 15 against the Steelers. The running back missed last week due to an ankle injury and Ronnie Hillman struggled to handle the work load. Head coach Gary Kubiak expects Anderson will be available come Sunday, but would not express what his role would be. Still limited with the injury, Hillman could see the bigger work load once again.
The absence of Anderson during the week led to a slew of workouts from various players including Trent Richardson. The running back has not been seen from since getting cut from the Oakland Raiders, but is aiming to get a futures contract from someone like the Broncos. According to Troy Renck of the Denver Post, no contract is immanent right now considering Anderson returned to the field, but it could be something the Broncos revisit in time.
For now, Osweiler should be happy to see both running backs on the field and healthy. That should give him the effective ground game that helped in his first few starts. The run game will be a priority as both Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders have struggled recently. Thomas was marred by dropped passes against the Oakland Raiders which set the offense back. The Broncos need Thomas to get rid of that habit quickly as big plays could be what beats the Steelers.
Sanders has been dealing with various injuries including shoulder and ankle problems. He is now preparing to return to the place he spent the first portion of his career at. He is hoping that installs a little momentum into the Broncos as he knows this is a critical game for the team going forward.
Every game down the stretch is going to be a big game, we all know it," Sanders said, via ESPN.com. "It's playoff football right now. We have to handle business. Obviously, we dropped an egg versus Oakland and we had an opportunity to be first place in the AFC. We dropped an egg, like I said, so what can we do about it? We can't do anything. We can't carry that luggage. We can only move forward. It's on to Pittsburgh."
