Antonio Brown Gives Steelers Offense Balance to Make Playoff Push: Heres a news flash for you: The Pittsburgh Steelers passing attack is structured around Antonio Brown. In a come-from-behind 27-24 win versus the Tennessee Titans on Monday Night Football—the teams second appearance on the program this year—Brown carried the Steelers through the air once again. His quarterback Ben Roethlisberger targeted him a team-high 11 times on the night. Those 11 targets were more than Heath Miller, LeVeon Bell and Lance Moore received as a trio. You dont need anyone to explain to you the level of comfort and trust Roethlisberger has with Brown. Clearly over the last two seasons, that chemistry has blossomed into one of the more special relationships in football. The veteran quarterback has had the likes of Hines Ward, Plaxico Burress and Mike Wallace over his 11-year career. All have been solid pass-catchers in their own right. But none of those guys are quite as explosive and impactful as Brown. The concentrated amount of targets he received on Monday Night Football turned into nine receptions for 91 yards and a critical touchdown with 9:01 to go in the fourth quarter. Weve been spoiled over the last couple of weeks thanks to the play of Big Ben. Not counting the catastrophe in New Jersey, Roethlisberger launched 12 touchdown passes in a two-game span (against the Colts and Ravens), which made the Steelers passing attack look like the Denver Broncos of last season. Obviously, Brown thrived in those two weeks, hauling in 21 catches for 277 yards and three touchdowns. But the real beauty of Brown is that he always contributes and does it in a big way. As ESPNs Trey Wingo identified, hes caught at least five passes in a game 27 times in a row now: In fact, hes never received less than six targets in a single game this season, and out of the 11 times Pittsburgh has taken the field, Brown has accumulated double-digit targets in nine of those contests. Simply put, the numbers hes posting up right now are crazy. They are not only a fantasy football general managers dream, but they prove that no matter what an opposing defense does to try and contain him, nothing seems to work. Comparing Browns stats to the rest of the pass-catchers on this roster is all you really need to understand just how important of a piece he is to the puzzle. On the year, Brown has snatched 79 balls on 112 targets for 1,070 yards and eight touchdowns. He not only leads the team in every category, but if you add up the yards and touchdowns the second- and third-place guys have, they still fall short of Browns totals. At 7-4, the Steelers are attempting to secure themselves a spot in the playoffs. With Bell coming on as one of the most prolific runners in the sport, this offense now has the luxury of calling a balanced game. But its Browns ability to destroy secondaries on a recurring basis that makes the Steelers so devastating. Hes not only able to work across the middle of the field, but his speed and quickness make him a vertical threat as well. His quickness reminds NFL Network Analyst Daniel Jeremiah of the great Allen Iverson: To really get a feel for what hes talking about, you have to look at the touchdown he scored against the Titans. Working off of play action, Roethlisberger notices from the jump Brown is in the end zone, smothered in double coverage. Instead of moving on and looking elsewhere, he decides to zip the ball into the corner and watch his wide receiver break free and come down with a six-point play. Lost in the initial camera angle was the ridiculous move Brown used to slip past the coverage. He quickly stutters inside but then erupts to the outside to provide his QB with a perfect passing window. Its that type of move that separates him from a lot of wide receivers in the NFL. Hes a nightmare to slow down because he can do so many different things on the field. Brown playing like an unstoppable force is exactly what this Steelers offense needs to make a late playoff push. The underlying issue is their defense, of course, but with Brown out there on the field, they should be able to go to point-for-point with the best of them. The Steelers remaining schedule isnt a cakewalk by any means. The New Orleans Saints, Cincinnati Bengals—twice—and Kansas City Chiefs are all viable opponents. However, besides the Chiefs top-ranked pass defense, the good news is the Bengals and Saints are both susceptible to attacks by way of the air. From here on out, its all about Antonio Brown. The Steelers are in a great position to not only reach the postseason but also win their division. The better Brown plays, the better chance this team has of making a splash in the month of December. Unless noted otherwise, all game scores and information come courtesy of ESPN. Read more NFL news on BleacherReport #Football #NFL #AFCNorth #PittsburghSteelers
Posted on: Tue, 18 Nov 2014 10:26:37 +0000