All week leading up to Sunday’s Week 12 game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Seattle Seahawks, we wrote extensively about how cornerback Richard Sherman was likely going to match-up against wide receiver Antonio Brown quite a bit in the contest. While that match up certainly didn’t disappoint, Sherman undoubtedly won it.
While Sherman didn’t cover Brown on every single play Sunday, he was lined up across from one the best in the league quite a bit. As far as balls thrown in the direction of Brown with Sherman in coverage, there were 9 of those and only 3 were caught by the Steelers wide receiver for 24 yards. If you go back and look at those completions on the tape, two were quick screens to the left side of the field with the other one being a back-shoulder throw down the field.
Brown finished the game with 6 catches for 51 yards, but he certainly wasn’t a big factor as Sherman pretty much blanketed him the entire game. After the game, Sherman talked about his admiration for Brown while in his team’s locker room
“He’s a fantastic receiver, you’ve got to give him all the respect in the world and I just did my best to execute our scheme and do what we have to do,” said Sherman. “There’s great respect between me and him and it was showing in this game.”
That was the first time that Brown and Sherman have faced each other in a game and unless the two teams meet each other in a Super Bowl in the coming years, the next time the two might see each other on the field could be 2019 when both players will be 32 years of age.
