Last week, I wrote about how the Pittsburgh Steelers needed to get second-year wide receiver Martavis Bryant back on track with the deep ball in their Sunday game against the Cleveland Browns. Well, that wound up happening.
Bryant was targeted 11 times on Sunday against the Browns and of the 6 deep passes thrown to him he caught 4 of them. On one other deep pass thrown his way in the second quarter, while incomplete, Browns cornerback Charles Gaines was flagged for pass interference and the play resulted in a 35-yard gain.
While one of those long receptions went for a 32-yard touchdown, Bryant’s best catch of the game, a finger-tip grab that he hauled in 35 yards down the field, was fumbled as he was running with the football. While it was an unfortunate ending to the play, the catch certainly was spectacular.
Bryant finished the game with 6 catches for 178 yards and that yardage now serves as his career best.
Counting last year’s playoff loss to the Baltimore Ravens, Bryant has now played in 16 total games, which is the equivalent to one NFL season. He registered 53 total catches for 1,050 yards and 14 touchdowns during that span.
With his touchdown Sunday against the Browns, Bryant has now scored in all but one game that he has played in so far this season and he’s on pace to catch 44 passes in 2015 for 968 yards. The Clemson product missed the first five games of the season due to a four-game suspension and a minor knee injury.
