By ARNIE STAPLETON
AP Sports Writer

ENGLEWOOD, Colo.(AP) -- The Denver Broncos are still smarting from
their beatdown at Baltimore and they're pledging not to let
themselves get pummeled by Pittsburgh.

The main message when coach Josh McDaniels installed his game
plan Wednesday was that the Broncos need to get back to the
basics of winning the physical matchups. It's what they did
during their 6-0 start, a stretch that came to a crashing halt
in a 30-7 blowout loss at Baltimore last week.

"Yeah, they beat us up pretty good, no question about it,"
Broncos quarterback Kyle Orton said. "We feel like we've got a
physical football team and certainly Pittsburgh prides
themselves on that, too. So, it'll be a hard-hitting game and
whoever can win that battle is going to have a good chance to
win."

The Broncos were the NFL's biggest surprise when they took an
unblemished record into November. Under the brash, 33-year-old
McDaniels, they proved well-coached, disciplined and physical.
And they quieted any remaining doubters by beating Dallas, New
England and San Diego is successive weeks in October.

Then came the blowout at Baltimore, and now the league will
learn if they have a bounce-back in them that's anywhere near as
impressive as their stunning start.

They figure the ricochet begins with being the ones to deliver
most of the punishment.

Physicality can be a nebulous notion in the NFL. What
constitutes being more physical than one's opponent? Is it
mostly about size, strength, speed, matchups, gumption?

"It's about everything," Orton said. "It's about practice. You
can't just practice soft for three or four days and expect to go
out and play a physical game."

Linebacker Andra Davis said being physical is almost all mental.

"You know that next day you will be hurting. So just accept the
fact, go in there and bang, throw your body around and try to
knock your guy back," Davis said. "It will be an all-day effort.
You have to go in there and bang, bang, bang."

McDaniels disputes the perception that the Broncos lost the
physical battle last week because they were overmatched in any
area.

"We didn't play the way that we're capable of playing. And
that's not an excuse. Baltimore forced us to play the way we
played and they deserve credit," McDaniels said. "We've got to
do better. But it's not about matchups. We have enough players
out there that can match up physically with anybody in this
league."

That would come in handy because Pittsburgh presents the same
sort of challenge Baltimore did with a fast, controlled style of
play piloted by stars such as Ben Roethlisberger and Hines Ward
on offense and James Harrison and Troy Polamalu on defense.

"Absolutely, it's a very physical team in every phase,"
McDaniels said. "And to me, that's where it starts with the
Steelers. If you're going to get 'out-physicaled' offensively,
defensively, in the kicking game, you're going to have a hard
time winning. And they are definitely going to challenge you in
every area."

There's simply no soft underbelly to the defending Super Bowl
champs.

"Every one of their players plays like that. I don't care if
it's the kickoff returner, the kicker, the tight ends, the
lines, whomever it is, Roethlisberger. They're all physical
players that play tough and are going to present that challenge
to us individually and as a team collectively," McDaniels said.

The Steelers (5-2) have been throwing the ball a lot more this
season, but the Broncos feel that's a trap.

"Pittsburgh is going to pound the ball," defensive lineman Kenny
Peterson said. "They have a physical offensive line. Their
mentality has been the same for decades, which is physical
play."

A big step toward regaining their swagger would be for the
Broncos to start fast Monday night. They've been outscored 39-24
in the first quarter while outscoring opponents 116-57 after
that.

"We're going to try to address it every day that we're here,"
McDaniels said. "It's been a multitude of different reasons,
whether it be execution of a simple thing or a decision being
made, a bad call on our part, something. A mistake here or there
changes the beginning of the game."

And a shift on the physicality front could very well change the
outcome, too.