After trailing 19-14 one minute into the fourth quarter, the Broncos stormed back with 17 unanswered points to open the season with a 31-19 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers. Facing a five-point deficit after a Pittsburgh touchdown, Manning marched the Broncos 80 yards down the field, then added a two-point conversion to take a 22-19 lead.

Denver’s D forced a three-and-out on the next Pittsburgh possession, and the Broncos then moved down the field to set up a 26-yard field goal by Matt Prater that made it 25-19.

The Broncos defense delivered the knockout punch on the following series when cornerback Tracy Porter jumped a route on the sideline and sped 43 yards into the end zone for a 31-19 lead that the Steelers were never able to threaten.

Neither team was able to produce much offense in the opening quarter, but both Ben Roethlisberger of the Steelers and Peyton Manning of the Broncos came alive in a back-and-forth battle that the Steelers led 10-7 at halftime and the Broncos led 14-13 going into the fourth quarter.

Broncos cornerback Tracy Porter came up with the first interception of the night for either team at a huge time, intercepting Pittsburgh’s Ben Roethlisberger on the first play after the two-minute warning.

Porter made the pick in stride and raced into the end zone untouched to put his team ahead 31-19 after a failed two-point conversion.

He now has five pass breakups on the night and is second on the team with eight tackles – all solo.

After a failed two-point conversion, Denver leads 31-19 with 1:58 to play in the game.

The Broncos stretched their lead to 25-19 with a 12-play, 55-yard drive that ended with a 26-yard field goal by kicker Matt Prater. The drive took 5:18 off the clock.

Quarterback Peyton Manning completed just one of his four passes on the series, but his one completion was an 18-yarder to tight end Jacob Tamme. Running back Willis McGahee ran the ball five times for 16 yards on the possession as the team tied to drain as much time off the game clock as possible.

Denver surged ahead with an 80-yard drive that quarterback Peyton Manning wrapped up by finding tight end Jacob Tamme for a 1-yard touchdown completion near the pylon.

The Broncos tacked on the two-point conversion when Manning fired a strike to running back Willis McGahee in the front of the end zone. After the conversion, the Broncos led 22-19 with 9:23 to play.

The Broncos started the drive on their own 20-yard line with two runs by running back Willis McGahee for 21 yards. From there, Manning moved the ball down the field by finding wide receiver Demaryius Thomas for eight yards, Eric Decker for six yards, Tamme for 11, and Decker for 17 to put the Broncos on Pittsburgh’s 1-yard line.

Manning is currently 18-for-23 passing, for 235 yards and two touchdowns, good for a passer rating of 138.2.

Denver wasted no time answering the Steelers’ field goal drive. After a 9-yard completion from quarterback Peyton Manning to wide receiver Eric Decker, Manning threw short to wide receiver Demaryius Thomas, who outran the Steelers defense for the 71-yard touchdown. Big downfield blocks by tight end Jacob Tamme, guard Zane Beadles and wide receiver Matthew Wilis sprung the speedy Thomas.

With that throw, Manning joined Brett Favre and Dan Marino as the only passers in NFL history to throw 400 touchdown passes.

By reaching the milestone in his 209th career game, Manning becomes the quickest to get to 400 by 18 games, as both Favre and Marino threw TD No. 400 in the 227th game of their careers.

Thomas now has four catches for 102 yards, giving him three career regular-season games with more than 100 yards receiving. He also topped the 100-yard mark in last year’s AFC Wild Card win over the Steelers, finishing with four catches for 204 yards.

Pittsburgh’s first drive of the second half ended with a 35-yard field goal by Shaun Suisham that capped a 16-play march in which the Steelers moved the ball 64 yards and chewed up 8:55.

The two biggest offensive plays of the series were a pair of 15-yard completions by Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, one to wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders and one to tight end Heath Miller.

The Broncos forced the Steelers to settle for a field goal when defensive end Elvis Dumervil and linebacker Von Miller hit Roethlisberger to force the third-down incompletion.

The Steelers answered Denver’s touchdown drive with a 14-play, 79-yard scoring march highlighted by long completions by Roethlisberger. First, a 27-yard pass to Antonio Brown set Pittsburgh up at the Broncos’ 18-yard line. Three plays later, Roethlisberger scrambled around and found Emmanuel Sanders for a 17-yard gain to give his team first-and-goal from the Broncos’ 4-yard line.

After a spike on first-and-goal and an incompletion, Roethlisberger found tight end Heath Miller open in the end zone on third down for a 4-yard touchdown strike to make it 10-7 with 32 seconds remaining in the first half.

Peyton Manning kneeled the ball for the Broncos on the next possession to bring about halftime.

At halftime, Denver and Pittsburgh are evenly matched in several statistical categories, including first downs, with the Steelers having nine to the Broncos’ eight. Pittsburgh also has a slight edge in total yards of offense, 143-126.

Manning completed 10-of-14 passes for 98 yards in the first half, while Roethlisberger is currently 9-for-16 passing for 120 yards and a touchdown.

Click here for the Broncos’ first half audio highlights.

Denver put together an 80-yard drive that took 4:54 off the clock and gave the Broncos a 7-3 lead with 5:16 to play in the first half.

Working out of the no-huddle, Peyton Manning completed six of seven passes on the drive for 57 yards. Manning’s longest pass of the drive was a 20-yard completion to wide receiver Demaryius Thomas. Manning also picked up seven yards on a scramble.

Running back Knowshon Moreno finished the drive with a cutback touchdown run that covered seven yards.

BRONCOS VS. STEELERS:

BRONCOS KNOCK OFF STEELERS, 31-19: The Broncos scored the last 17 points of their season opener to erase an early fourth-quarter deficit and emerge with a 31-19 victory over the visiting Pittsburgh Steelers.

BRONCOS ON TWITTER: Follow the action on Twitter, as well, via the Broncos’ official gameday account. @BroncosGameday will keep fans updated with live, in-game updates throughout today’s contest.

GAME COIN: Below is the coin the officials will flip to kick off the season.

BRONCOS TV: ON SITE: Click here to catch the first episode of Broncos TV On Site, featuring Chris Hall and Gray Caldwell. Each week, they come to you live from field level to break down the Broncos’ matchup.

INACTIVES ANNOUNCED: The players that will not suit up for tonight’s game have been announced. @BroncosGameday.

PREGAME PHOTOS: Get an up-close look as the Broncos get ready to take on the Steelers, courtesy of team photographer Eric Lars Bakke.

BRONCOS RECOGNIZE OLYMPIANS: Prior to Sunday night’s kickoff, the Broncos honored a number of Olympians with Colorado ties, including swimmer Missy Franklin.

BRONCOS WIN COIN TOSS: The Broncos won the coin toss and chose to receive the ball to open the game.

FIRST QUARTER UPDATE: It’s a scoreless tie after both defenses set the tone throughout the game’s opening 15 minutes.

INJURY UPDATE: Defensive tackle Ty Warren has an elbow injury and his return is questionable.

PITTSBURGH GOES UP 3-0: The Steelers scored the first points of the evening after starting the drive at the Broncos’ 38-yard line. Pittsburgh was unable to find the end zone despite three chances from Denver’s 3-yard line.

BRONCOS TAKE 7-3 LEAD: Denver answered Pittsburgh’s field goal with an 80-yard touchdown drive that took 12 plays and 4:54. The drive ended with a 7-yard touchdown run by running back Knowshon Moreno.

STEELERS MAKE IT 10-7: A 14-play, 79-yard drive culminating in a 4-yard touchdown completion from Ben Roethlisberger to Heath Miller has given Pittsburgh a 3-point lead at halftime.

FIRST HALF AUDIO HIGHLIGHTS: Click here to listen to audio highlights from the first half of the Broncos’ season opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers, courtesy of AM 850 KOA.

HOME CROWD IS FOURTH LARGEST IN BRONCOS HISTORY: The Broncos attendance of 76,823 is the fourth-highest mark in team history.

STEELERS EXTEND LEAD TO 13-7: The Steelers pushed their lead to 13-7 on a time-consuming drive that ended with a 35-yard field goal by Shaun Suisham.

MANNING MILESTONE GIVES DENVER 14-13 LEAD: A 71-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Peyton Manning to wide receiver Demaryius Thomas has given the Broncos a one-point lead and put Manning in elite company as one of three passers in NFL history to throw 400 touchdowns. Click here for the audio highlight of the touchdown, courtesy of AM 850 KOA.

PITTSBURGH PULLS AHEAD 19-14: The Steelers regained the lead on a 3-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Ben Roethlisberger to wide receiver Mike Wallace.

BRONCOS BACK IN FRONT, 22-19: With a 10-play, 80-yard touchdown drive that took 4:48, the Broncos have retaken the lead at 22-19.

FIELD GOAL PADS DENVER’S LEAD: A 26-yard field goal by Denver’s Matt Prater capped a 55-yard drive and pushed the Broncos’ lead from three to six points.

PORTER’S PICK-SIX GIVES BRONCOS 13-POINT LEAD: Cornerback Tracy Porter stepped in front of a Ben Roethlisberger pass and sprinted into the end zone to secure a 31-19 victory for the Broncos.

Thanks to a 23-yard punt return by the Steelers’ Antonio Brown, Pittsburgh started its first scoring drive of the evening on the Broncos’ 38-yard line.

The Steelers were able to push the ball inside the Broncos’ 10-yard line before the Denver defense stiffened near the goal line. Champ Bailey came up with a pass breakup on first-and-goal from the 3-yard line, and Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger’s second-down pass attempt was caught, but out of bounds thanks to tight coverage from linebacker Keith Brooking. On third-and-goal, Roethlisberger’s pass was broken up by cornerback Tracy Porter.

Shaun Suisham’s 21-yard field goal gave the Steelers a 3-0 lead with 10:10 remaining in the second quarter.