A lot will be written about the game-winning touchdown catch and reach made by Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown late in Sunday’s win over the Baltimore Ravens and with good reason. With that said, the Steelers had other young wide receivers deliver a crucial catch on that final drive as well.
With 57 seconds left in the game and facing a 2nd and 1 from the Ravens 39-yard-line, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger rolled out to his right to avoid a heavy edge pass rush. He then proceeded to find an open wide receiver in Eli Rogers and while the throw was a little bit high, the former undrafted free agent out of Louisville made a spectacular leaping catch for a gain of 20 yards.
“Well, its huge,” Roethlisberger said of Rogers’ fourth quarter reception during his post-hgame press conference. “Happy for him, excited for him. everybody expects [Le’Veon] Bell and [Antonio] Brown to make the plays, but when other guys step up, guys that you don’t know about. People don’t even know certain guys’ names, you know. You just got to believe and have faith and trust in them and they made plays, and that’s just awesome and I’m so happy for him.”
The catch by Rogers was his fourth of the game and the biggest of his young career to date and five plays later the Steelers scored their go-ahead touchdown. Rogers also added a 35-yard catch with 11:32 left in the third quarter. On that play. Rogers worked himself open in the middle of the field and Roethlisberger hit him in stride. While that drive didn’t end in a touchdown, it did result in a field goal to draw the Steelers within 4-points.
Rogers entered Sundays game with 42 receptions for 533 yards and three touchdowns. His rookie season was wiped out by a foot injury that suffered during training camp.
