During this dead period of the NFL season I thought it would be fun to look back at the tremendous 2015 season that Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown had as it relates to the targeted passes that he didn’t manage to catch. This series, however, should not be viewed as me nit-picking Brown as instead I hope to show what a reliable pass catcher he is as it relates to catchable and non-catchable balls thrown his direction.
Even though he didn’t have as many receiving yards as he did in the game against the Oakland Raiders, you could make a strong argument that Brown’s Week 15 performance at Heinz Field against the Denver Broncos was the best of his career to date. In this much-needed Steelers win, Brown caught 16 passes for 189 yards and 2 touchdowns and he did so against one of the better cornerbacks in the league in Chris Harris Jr.
Brown, by the way, only failed to catch two passes thrown his way from quarterback Ben Roethlisberger in this game against the Broncos and as you will see below, he had good reasons for that.
Brown’s first misconnect with Roethlisberger came on the second play of the game. As you can see, Roethlisberger’s pass to Brown never makes it past the original line of scrimmage as Broncos defensive end Derek Wolfe is able to get a hand up and bat it down. That was the first ball thrown Brown’s way in the game and while that one was incomplete, the next 11 would be caught by the Steelers wide receiver.
The next time in the game that Brown and Roethlisberger failed to hook up was late in the third quarter on this 3rd and 5 play from the Steelers own 35-yard-line. As you can see this time, Roethlisberger initially wants to go to his right side but after seeing tight coverage, decides to target Brown on the backside. You can clearly see Brown break off his route as he attempts to shake Harris. Roethlisberger, however, probably expected his wide receiver to break more toward the outside as evidenced by where the football was ultimately thrown. While Brown was able to get a hand on the pass, it was still very uncatchable.
Brown ultimately scored two touchdowns against the Broncos and both came against Harris, who had not given up a score in two years entering that game against the Steelers. Below is the second of two scores by Brown that ultimately wound up being the game-winner.
Why Didn’t Antonio Brown Catch That? Part 1
Why Didn’t Antonio Brown Catch That? Part 2
Why Didn’t Antonio Brown Catch That? Part 3
Why Didn’t Antonio Brown Catch That? Part 4
Why Didn’t Antonio Brown Catch That? Part 5
Why Didn’t Antonio Brown Catch That? Part 6
Why Didn’t Antonio Brown Catch That? Part 7
Why Didn’t Antonio Brown Catch That? Part 8
Why Didn’t Antonio Brown Catch That? Part 9
Why Didn’t Antonio Brown Catch That? Part 10
Why Didn’t Antonio Brown Catch That? Part 11
Why Didn’t Antonio Brown Catch That? Part 12
Why Didn’t Antonio Brown Catch That? Part 13
