Slowing Steelers' Antonio Brown? Easier said than done

FOXBOROUGH — It’s a good thing it’s almost Sunday, because the Patriots have pretty much run out of adjectives when it comes to describing Antonio Brown.

The Steelers wide receiver, who leads the NFL in catches (99) and receiving yards (1,509) and is second in receiving touchdowns (nine) is arguably the most complete receiver New England will face this season. The 5-foot-10, 180-pounder has elbowed his way into the MVP discussion with a sensational 2017 with eight 100-yard games, including last week against the Ravens, when he finished with 11 catches on 18 targets for 213 yards.

For his career, he needs one catch to become the first player in league history with at least 100 receptions in five consecutive seasons, and he’s topped 1,500 yards three times, one off the league record held by Jerry Rice.

So what makes him so special?



“Speed, heart, strength, quickness,” said cornerback Malcolm Butler. “All of it.”

“Everything,” said Bill Belichick. “Just make a list. He’s on all of it.”

“Antonio Brown is a great player,” said defensive coordinator Matt Patricia.

So if you’re the Patriots, how do you go about defending him?

“He’s really, really, really good and he has a really, really, really good quarterback,” said Devin McCourty of the Brown-Ben Roethlisberger combination. “I think you start with that.”

According to McCourty, he’s the rarest of receivers: one who can run right past you with electric speed or compete viciously for a 50-50 ball.

“Even if you get, at times, you get two guys on him, staying in front of him is tough,” McCourty said. “He makes catches in surrounding areas where there are three guys around him, or Ben throws it in between two guys and it looks there’s no way he’s going to come down with it. I think he has really good hands where he goes and plucks the ball in between two defenders.

“Then you just see at times if he’s singled he beats the defender and that’s a 40, 50, 60-yard play right there.”

The challenge also lies in the fact that Brown isn’t Pittsburgh’s only top-flight offensive option. Running back Le’Veon Bell leads the league in rushing yards, and the receiver and back make up what some call the most potent wide receiver-running back combo in league history. If you spend too much time focusing on one, the other will hurt you — according to Pro Football Reference, the pairing has generated an astounding 62.8 percent of Pittsburgh’s total yards this season.

“Those two guys are both fabulous players on the same team,” Belichick said of the Bell-Brown combination. “Just dynamic players that have the ability to do so many things (and) do them so well consistently. They’re there every week. They make big plays every week. Two-thirds of the offense with two guys – that’s a lot of offense.”

Specific to Brown, in the past, the Patriots have utilized multiple defenders on the receiver, with Butler engaged in coverage with him off the line and an extra safety over the top for additional help. (On occasion, that’s been McCourty, as the ball skills of the cornerback-turned-safety have worked well against Brown.) And while Butler didn’t necessarily give away the game plan for Sunday, it sounds like it’ll be a combination of coverages on Brown once again.

“He challenges everybody,” Butler said of Brown. “I’ll be on him; everybody will be on him. Everybody will have the opportunity, not just me. We’ve just got to play good football.”

In five career games against New England, that combination of coverage has yielded mixed results: On one hand, Brown’s stat line has been undeniably robust, with 37 catches on 50 targets for 454 yards and three touchdowns.

But the flip side is that the Patriots are 4-1 against Pittsburgh in those five games. In those four wins, New England’s average margin of victory has been 15.3 points. Brown has gotten his totals, but some of that production has come in the second half of games where the Patriots have been occasionally willing to trade yards for clock. (By way of example, 51 of Brown's 77 receiving yards in last year's AFC title game came after the Patriots were up by 11 roughly midway through the third quarter.)

Ultimately, the key to stopping Brown? Butler's statement about "everybody" having a hand in slowing Brown doesn't just mean on defense. If the Patriots are able to play good complementary football -- score early, get some key stops and win the battle of field position -- you make the Steelers more of a one-dimensional team. Consequently, you're in a situation where you can dictate the tempo of the game late.

It won't necessarily erase Brown, but history shows that sort of scenario can certainly minimize the damage he's capable of doing.

“You’re not going to probably come out of this game (and) he has two catches for 10 (yards) – it’s just not going to happen,” McCourty said. “He’s too good of a player. But you’ve got to try to contain him somewhat and not let him just ruin the game for you.”

In the end, the goal is to acknowledge that Brown is a game-wrecker, but limit his overall damage when it counts. In the end, New England would gladly trade another gaudy stat line for Brown for a win and the inside track for home-field in the AFC playoff race.