Hoping to rebound from their road loss to the Ravens, the Broncos went home for a Week 9 Monday night duel with the defending Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers.  Denver would begin the first quarter with kicker Matt Prater making a 40-yard field goal, yet the Steelers responded in the second quarter with safety Tyrone Carter returning an interception 48 yards for a touchdown. The Broncos would regain the lead in the third quarter as defensive end Kenny Peterson forced a fumble during his sack of quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.  It allowed rookie linebacker Robert Ayers to return the fumble 54 yards for a touchdown.  However, Pittsburgh came right back with Roethlisberger's 3-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Hines Ward.  Afterwards, the Steelers would pull away in the fourth quarter as Roethlisberger completed a 25-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Mike Wallace and a 3-yard touchdown pass to Ward. Making an appearance during the game was American Nordic combined skier Johnny Spillane, a Steamboat Springs, Colorado native, who would go on to win three silver medals at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver three months later.

how many yards did ayers return?
54 yards