Antonio Brown had an otherworldly run with the Pittsburgh Steelers from 2013-18, putting up eye-opening numbers at the receiver position not seen since the days of Hall of Famer Jerry Rice in the NFL.
Year after year in that span, Brown averaged more than 100 receptions, had more than 1,200 yards each season, finished with more than eight touchdowns and earned All-Pro and Pro Bowl honors in that span.
He was the best receiver in the game, on a Hall of Fame trajectory and was a beloved member of the Steelers. Of course, that all came crashing down late in the 2018 season when he walked out on the Steelers and demanded a trade, then saw his life off the field really fall apart. But that’s a story for another day.
Today, we’re going to focus on his dominant showing against the then-Oakland Raiders in the 2015 season, helping Pittsburgh hold off a valiant comeback effort from the Raiders at then-Heinz Field.
In that matchup, on November 8, 2015, Brown set a Steelers franchise record with an absurd 17 receptions for 284 yards. Remarkably, he didn’t find the end zone despite the 23 targets he garnered.
Let’s dive into this latest installment of One For The Record Books highlighting Brown’s dominance in 2015.
Against the Raiders that day at a packed Heinz Field, Ben Roethlisberger targeted Brown early and often as he cooked the likes of cornerbacks D.J. Hayden and David Amerson over and over again.
He started his day in impressive fashion, putting on a vintage display of “Tony Toe Taps” along the right sideline for a remarkable 13-yard catch, getting two feet down in an improbable fashion in the shadows of the mid-afternoon game.
That remarkable catch ultimately helped the Steelers march down the field for a 34-yard Chris Boswell field goal, making it a 7-3 game in favor of Oakland after an early touchdown pass from Derek Carr to Michael Crabtree.
Brown was just getting started on the day.
Two drives later, needing a spark late in the first quarter, Roethlisberger dialed up the deep ball to Brown.
Brown raced through the middle of the Raider defense to take the top off, hauling in a 59-yard pass on the first play after a Raiders punt, igniting the home crowd and getting the Steelers offense into gear.
Following the explosive play, Brown added catches of 11 and 9 yards, eventually leading to a 3-yard rushing touchdown by DeAngelo Williams and a two-point conversion from Roethlisberger to Williams, making it an 11-7 game in favor of the Steelers.
Oakland later took a 14-11 lead, but the Steelers went back in front 18-14 on another Williams touchdown, aided by another explosive play by Brown.
Lined up out wide to the left with the Steelers driving, Brown beat Amerson cleanly on an inside release and won easily down the field on a fade route, hauling in the Roethlisberger pass over his outside shoulder for a 41-yard gain, continuing his dominant first half.
Following Brown’s big catch, Williams did the rest on the ground, punching the ball in from 3 yards out on fourth and 1 to give the Steelers the lead.
For good measure, Brown added two more catches on the final drive of the first half, giving the Steelers a 21-14 lead at the half after a Boswell 38-yard field. Brown finished the first half with an absurd 10 catches for 180 yards. He still had a whole half to go.
Coming out of the break, Brown was relatively quiet overall as the Raiders threw everything they could at him. Williams and No. 2 wide receiver Martavis Bryant did much of the heavy lifting offensively, taking advantage of the Raiders focusing so much on Brown.
When it mattered most though, Brown came through in the clutch.
With Roethlisberger out of the game due to a knee injury suffered on a sack, backup quarterback Landry Jones looked Brown’s way.
Late in the fourth quarter holding a 35-28 lead, Jones hit Brown for a 14-yard gain down the left sideline, helping Brown set the single-game record for receptions with 15 in Steelers franchise history.
The drive ultimately stalled though and the Raiders came back to tie the game.
Brown saved his best for last though.
Tied at 35-35 with under a minute to go, Brown took a short slant route from Jones and turned it into a 57-yard catch-and-run, racing down the right sideline as Heinz Field erupted.
What a play from the best receiver in the game at the time. He was remarkable with the football in his hands and was always open.
That catch and run helped set up the game-winning 18-yard field goal from Boswell.
Brown finished with 17 receptions for 284 yards against the Raiders, putting his name in the Steelers record books at a position with some impressive names overall. Brown later came close in receptions later that season against the Denver Broncos a month later, but had just 16 receptions for 189 yards in that game, though he had two touchdowns in the win.
