The Bengals did a good job of containing Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown last weekend and Brown finished the day with four catches for 39 yards, which marked his lowest output in a game since Week Six of last season.
Brown looked frustrated on the field during the 24-16 Pittsburgh win and admitted as much during his weekly radio show on WDVE Tuesday night. He said center Maurkice Pouncey and quarterback Ben Roethlisberger usually tell him to calm down in such situations, which was also the general message that Roethlisberger delivered when talking to reporters on Wednesday.
“I’ve been in this league long enough to know that every single receiver is open on every single play,” Roethlisberger said, via the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “That’s just what you’re used to. But he’s the best in the world. We won the game, and that’s what’s most important. I think that’s what’s most important to him too. He’ll get his catches, he’ll get his yards. He’ll help us win football games. He’s helping us when he catches 3-4 balls because he’s taking a lot of attention away from other guys. That’s the reason the tight ends are open over the middle. He’s helping us even when he’s not catching balls.”
History agrees with Roethlisberger. The Steelers beat the Cardinals in Week Six last year when Brown had three catches for 24 yards and they beat the Chargers the week before when he had three for 45 yards. Brown had 40 catches after that game against the Cardinals and then had 96 over the next 10 games, so chances are good that he’ll be busier in the weeks to come.