(My Sportsbook) - Jake Plummer is heating up just as the weather is getting colder, and that could mean fans in Denver will have to wait for next year to see the beginning of the Jay Cutler era.

Broncos fans have had little to complain about this season, but when they do find the time to bellyache, the starting quarterback has usually been the object of their ire.

The team is 6-2 so far and recently had a five-game winning streak halted by the now 8-0 Indianapolis Colts. That's a strong start to the year, but Broncos fans are thinking about the Super Bowl, and it's reasonable to question whether or not Plummer is a good enough QB to get this club to Miami in February.

Plummer has made a strong case to keep his starting job in the past few weeks, and particularly in this past weekend's 31-20 win in Pittsburgh. "Jake the Snake" posted a season-high QB rating of 123.5 after completing 16-of-27 passes for 227 yards and three touchdown passes. His second-best rating of the year came this previous week in the loss to the Colts.

One possible reason why Plummer may be getting better as the season wears on is because he is getting more comfortable with wideout Javon Walker, who is in his first year with Denver after coming over in a trade with Green Bay.

Walker had a huge game against the Steelers on Sunday, as he hauled in six catches for 134 yards and a pair of touchdowns. It was the third 100-yard receiving game of the season for the for the former Florida State star, and the second in his last three games.

In addition to the two TD receptions, Walker also scampered for a 72-yard TD score on an end-around.

"He's a big-play guy," said Plummer of his favorite target. "Really the run is the one that I liked to see, because he made a guy miss and took off. That was a sweet run, one of the nicest runs I've ever seen. He's playing big for us so if he keeps that up will be all right."

All told, it was a strong effort for the Broncos offense, which is finally starting to do things through the air and not simply relying on the running game.

"There are some things I could have done better, but when all's said and done we got the 'W' and I think you guys know where I stand when it comes down to stats or wins, I'd rather have the wins. That's all I really care about," said Plummer.

Jake would rather get the wins, but I'm sure he doesn't mind the combination of personal achievement and victories.

RUNNING ON EMPTY

The Broncos have consistently had one of the best rushing offenses in the NFL since Mike Shanahan has been the head coach, but Pittsburgh has been just as good at stopping the run under Bill Cowher. Something had to give in this week's game, and Denver wound up being the ones doing the giving.

Denver wound up with a respectable 115 yards on the ground, but 72 of those yards came on Walker's run. Even with the big end-around, the 115 yards fell well short of the Broncos' average of 150.2 rushing yards per contest.

Mike Bell was the starting running back for Denver this week, filling in for Tatum Bell, who was forced to sit out with a toe injury. Mike Bell was stifled by the Steelers defense, and wound up with just 28 yards on 17 carries.

DEFENSIVE BREAKDOWN

It's no secret that the Broncos defense has carried the club this year, but that certainly wasn't the case this Sunday against the Steelers.

Pittsburgh gained a whopping 499 yards of total offense, and Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger threw for 433 yards. Still, Denver came up with big plays when it needed to and ended up with three interceptions against "Big Ben".

Once again, cornerback Champ Bailey was the big playmaker on defense for the Broncos, as the six-time Pro Bowler came up with a pair of interceptions. Bailey, who also had seven tackles, is second in the NFL with five picks this year. That's pretty impressive considering opposing offenses usually try very hard to keep the ball away from Bailey.

UP NEXT

The Broncos will have another road test next week, when they battle the Oakland Raiders at the Coliseum.