A performance that was so dominating in the first half started to unravel shortly after the Pittsburgh Steelers returned from intermission Sunday afternoon.

A defense that produced five sacks, forced two turnovers and set up the offense for 10 points in the first 30 minutes suddenly couldn’t get off the field thanks to a series of ill-timed penalties.

Ben Roethlisberger, after making the biggest splash of the game with an 84-yard touchdown pass to rookie Chase Claypool, threw an interception to end one drive and tossed an incompletion on fourth down to thwart another. A lost fumble led to a touchdown.

As a result, a 14-point lead at the break was down to five with the Denver Broncos, rallying behind a backup quarterback, driving for a potential go-ahead score in the waning moments.

But just when it looked like the Broncos might spoil the home opener at Heinz Field, the defense made one late stand that preserved a 26-21 victory and lifted the Steelers’ record to 2-0.

Terrell Edmunds’ sack of Jeff Driskel on fourth-and-2 at the Steelers 15 with 1 minute, 51 seconds remaining enabled the Steelers to escape with the win.

“We’ve got a lot of growth ahead of us,” coach Mike Tomlin said. “But it’s good to grow while you win.”

It was eerily quiet in the second half at Heinz Field, and not simply because no fans were allowed inside because of the coronavirus pandemic. The Steelers put on a performance for most of the third and fourth quarters that would have silenced any capacity home crowd.

Turnovers by Roethlisberger and running back Benny Snell led to 10 points for the Broncos. The Steelers, penalized 10 times in the game, were hurt by several defensive pass interference calls and a roughing-the-passer infraction.

“The good news is when you play poorly and you still win the football game,” Roethlisberger said. “So that’s something to be thankful for.”

The Steelers took a 17-3 lead into halftime before Roethlisberger’s first interception of the season ended one drive and a failed fourth-and-2 conversion ended the second. These mistakes helped the Broncos, who lost starting quarterback Drew Lock to a first-quarter injury, pull within three points.

A 28-yard pass from Roethlisberger to Diontae Johnson and a safety on a botched Denver punt appeared to provide a measure of security for the Steelers.

But a lost fumble by Snell set up a touchdown that pulled Denver within 26-21, and the Broncos were inside the Steelers’ red zone with less than two minutes remaining.

“There was no doubt,” said slot corner Mike Hilton, who had eight tackles, a sack and a fumble recovery. “We know who we are as a team, especially on the defensive end. When the game is in our hands, we like to go out and close it out, and that’s what we did today.”

It took a sack by the unlikeliest source for the Steelers to preserve their five-point lead. Edmunds, whose 17-yard pass interference penalty on third-and-11 extended the drive, lined up on the left side of the line, went unblocked and dropped Driskel for an 11-yard loss on fourth down.

It was just the second sack of Edmunds’ three-year career and first since his rookie season in 2018.

“If I’m the open guy, I have to make the play,” Edmunds said. “We were out there saying, ‘We love this. Let’s go out and make the play.’ I was the open guy to make that play.”

James Conner’s 59-yard run enabled the Steelers to run out the clock. He finished with 106 yards on 16 carries.

Roethlisberger completed 29 of 41 passes for 311 yards and two touchdowns while moving past Eli Manning and into seventh place on the all-time passing list. Included was an 84-yard strike to Claypool that came one play after Diontae Johnson’s 81-yard punt return was negated by a block-in-the-back penalty.

Johnson led the Steelers with eight catches for 92 yards and a touchdown. JuJu Smith-Schuster caught seven passes for 48 yards.

Roethlisberger, though, lamented his pass on the opening drive of the third quarter that was intercepted by Justin Simmons. He also didn’t like the pass he threw to tight end Eric Ebron on fourth-and-2 on the next series or that the Steelers converted just 2 of 10 third downs.

“I just have to trust myself and trust my guys,” Roethlisberger said. “They are in the spots they are supposed to be in. Sometimes you have to make an anticipatory throw, and I didn’t do that well enough today. I didn’t connect with guys when they were open. I just didn’t play well enough.”

Driskel completed 18 of 34 passes for 256 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. He also was sacked six times after Lock exited when Bud Dupree smashed him from behind midway through the first quarter, forcing a fumble that Hilton recovered.

It was the sixth sack of Driskel — and the seventh overall for the Steelers — that made the difference. It was the 19th time the Steelers made contact with a Denver quarterback. Roethlisberger, on the other hand, was touched just three times.

Yet, mistakes by the Steelers allowed the Broncos to remain in the game until the end.

“We understand early in the season that we’re not going to be perfect,” Tomlin said. “We were good enough to win.”

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