The Pittsburgh Steelers have over the course of this decade been blessed to have the talents of such stalwarts at their position as Ben Roethlisberger at quarterback and Antonio Brown at wide receiver. Say what you will about the former’s supposed decline, but he has been incredible for the team over the course of his career, and in very recent history.
The pair have been the most prolific in Steelers history over the course of the past seven-plus years, owning, among other records, the most touchdowns between a quarterback and a receiver, a record that they figure to extend further before all is said and done.
But each of them are on the eve of some personal, individual league history of their own as we head into today’s game, both of which are on the outside end, but very much achievable, against the Colts in Indianapolis.
For Roethlisberger, he enters this game with 3972 career completed passes. He needs 28 completions in today’s game in order to become just the ninth—or 10th—player in NFL history to reach 4000 completions over the course of their playing career.
Why is it up in the air? Because his fellow draft classmate, Philip Rivers, is also right on the precipice. Both of them play today at 1 PM kickoff, and Rivers enters his game with 3984 completions. He is more likely to reach the mark today, becoming the ninth, but both—or neither—or only Roethlisberger—might achieve the feat on this day.
Another accomplishment that might be achieved today will be an NFL first. If Brown catches 11 passes today, he will be the fastest player in NFL history to record 700 receptions in his career, and the first to do so within his first 110 games.
Earlier this season, he already became the fastest player to 650 receptions. That landmark struck many as an odd number to celebrate, but 700 is a more psychologically satisfying number that is more likely to get people onboard.
According to Dom Rinelli, the current record holder for the fastest to 700 receptions is Marvin Harrison, who did it in 114 game, so even if Brown doesn’t hit the mark today, he still has an excellent chance of breaking the record. He needs just 11 receptions over the next four games to do so.
#Steelers WR Antonio Brown (@AB84) has 689 catches in 109 games.
With 11 catches in his next 4 games, he will set an NFL record for the fewest games to reach 700 career receptions:
Marvin Harrison 114
Andre Johnson 120
Brandon Marshall 121— Dom Rinelli (@drinelli) November 9, 2017
Brown is currently second in the league with 57 receptions, though Larry Fitzgerald’s 60 receptions have been earned in nine games played already, so the Steelers receiver is still ahead on a per-game basis. But he has a long, long way to go to catch up to Fitzgerald’s career mark of 1185, the third-most all-time and counting. Brown currently ranks 47th all-time, for those wondering.
