Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown has certainly enjoyed having his quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger, back under center for the majority of the past two games. Roethlisberger, of course, dressed as the backup to Landry Jones today but was forced into action after Jones left with a foot injury.
Brown was coming off a career game, and franchise-record-setting game, netting 17 receptions for 284 yards. Both of those numbers individually ranked in the top 10 all-time in a single game, and he was just the second receiver after to post 17 receptions for at least 280 yards, after Terrell Owens in 2000.
During this game, he recorded a second game of double-digit receptions for triple-digit yardage, finishing with 10 receptions and 139 yards. He also added two touchdowns, his first multi-touchdown game of the year.
Over the two game, span, Brown has accumulated 27 receptions, which ranks as the third-most all time, trailing by one the mark set by Brandon Marshall—twice. But the record is held by a Jets running back in 1980, Clark Gaines.
This stat is an elusive one to track down, but based on my brief research, I’ve found that Brown’s 423 yards over the past two games ranks seventh, at best, all time.
The current record was set by Browns receiver Josh Gordon in 2013, netting 498 yards, including one game against the Steelers. He broke Calvin Johnson’s record of 484 yards. Behind him are Andre Johnson’s 461 yards in 2012, Chad Johnson’s 450 in 2006, John Taylor’s 448 in 1989, and Jerry Rice’s 442 in 1985.
Brown’s 423 yards is 19 yards behind Rice’s total, so it wouldn’t surprise me if there are another couple of two-game totals in between, but there is no getting around the fact that the sixth-year receivers’ output over that span has been nothing short of exceptional.
It is interesting to note that most of Brown’s damage came in the first half, totaling just one of his 10 receptions in the first two quarters, though that one reception netted 56 yards on an impressive catch-and-run that culminated in an equally impressive front flip complete with a stick on the landing.
Brown started off the year on fire, but things quickly derailed after Roethlisberger got injured, and he simply could not work with Mike Vick under center. In a five-game span from weeks three to eight, Brown was held to under 50 yards receiving four times.
But he has certainly re-righted the ship over the span of the last two games, as the numbers discussed above amply show. He entered this game with 69 receptions for 1002 yards on the season, and he leaves with 79 receptions for 1141.
That puts him on a pace to record 126 receptions for 1825 yards, which would rank third all time, behind only Calvin Johnson’s 1964 and Rice’s 1848, a record set in 1995 that stood for 17 years. Needless to say, both numbers would break franchise records that Brown himself already owns, set last year.
