ANTONIO BROWN
Wide Receiver
It was very much a "yes, but" kind of night for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Yes, they won their sixth straight game, 31-28 over Green Bay, to run their record to 9-2, but they found themselves in a battle royale with a Packers team that came into Heinz Field having lost four of its last five, a Packers team playing without quarterback Aaron Rodgers, a Packers team that had been shut out by Baltimore last week at Lambeau Field.
That was a big picture view, and the "yes, but" theme also applied to many of the Steelers' individual players and the roles they had in a victory that could be described as unnecessarily close. Yes, the theme applied to many of the Steelers' individual players, but not to Antonio Brown, which is why he is the Steelers Digest Player of the Week.
Brown finished the game with 10 catches for 169 yards and two touchdowns plus a 2-point conversion. And contained within those statistics is what he contributed to helping put Chris Boswell in a position to attempt a 53-yard field goal as time expired in an effort to pull out the victory.
The Steelers took possession at their own 30-yard line with 17 seconds left, and the first play was a 23-yard sideline pass to Brown that was one of those, "He didn't catch that, did he?" Instant replay confirmed the call on the field, and then the next play was another 14-yard completion to Brown, and then one play later, Boswell's field goal sent the Heinz Field crowd home happy.
Also considered were:
Ben Roethlisberger, who completed 33-of-45 for 351 yards, with four touchdowns, two interceptions, and a rating of 106.8. Included in those completions were some unbelievably accurate throws, and his receivers also dropped a half-dozen catchable balls. But Roethlisberger also threw two interceptions, one of which led to a Green Bay touchdown.
Le'Veon Bell, who had 183 yards from scrimmage that came on 95 yards rushing and 88 yards receiving. But he lost a fumble in the fourth quarter with the Steelers in Packers territory and looking to take a lead.
Boswell, whose 53-yard field goal provided the deciding points. But he missed the extra point following the Steelers' first touchdown.
Cam Heyward, who had six tackles, two sacks, and three total hits on the quarterback; Ryan Shazier, who led the team with eight tackles and added a pass defensed; and T.J. Watt, who had four tackles, a sack, and a pass defensed. But all of them played on a defense that allowed 28 points, including passing touchdowns of 55, 54, and 39 yards.
