PITTSBURGH — The pain was familiar to Ben Roethlisberger.

Welcome even.

And the best part about how his 38-year-old Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback’s body felt following his first game in 364 days might have been the fact none of the pain originated from his surgically repaired right elbow.

Roethlisberger is hopeful the saga of his extended comeback came to an end in northern New Jersey last Monday, when he tossed three touchdowns in a relatively solid and mistake-free 26-16 victory over the New York Giants.

From here on out, he expects the focus to be on football, though that may be impossible heading into Pittsburgh’s home opener against Denver (0-1) on Sunday.

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Rather than strictly preparing for the Broncos, Roethlisberger and the organization found itself spending a portion of the week facing questions about team unity after left tackle Alejandro Villanueva chose to honor a fallen US Army veteran on the back of his helmet rather than a Black Pittsburgh teenager killed by a white East Pittsburgh police officer in 2018, as the rest of the team did in New York. It was a move that caught Roethlisberger and defensive tackle Cameron Heyward — both longtime captains — off guard.

It got to the point that Steelers president Art Rooney II issued a statement saying he was “proud” of the efforts of the players to “bring awareness and changes to combat racism and social injustice” while acknowledging “we understand that individually we may say or do things that are not universally accepted.”

Denver’s issues are more muted by comparison. The Broncos let a winnable game against Tennessee slip away on Monday night when the Titans drove down the field late to pull out a 16-14 victory.

Still, there were tangible signs of things to get excited about as Denver hopes to gain traction in head coach Vic Fangio’s second season.

Quarterback Drew Lock completed 22 of 33 passes for 216 yards with a touchdown and zero interceptions. The 23-year-old has also proven difficult to take down. He’s been sacked just five times in six career starts and he’ll need to escape Pittsburgh’s fierce pass rush — and do it while taking care of the ball — if the Broncos want to extend their recent mastery over the Steelers. Denver has won four of the past five meetings with a list of victorious quarterbacks that includes Tim Tebow and Case Keenum.

Lock does have one thing in his favor: Hall of Fame offensive line coach Mike Munchak. The popular Munchak served in the same capacity for the Steelers from 2014-18 before leaving for Denver to be closer to his family. Heyward called Munchak “the ultimate spy.”