Whether it was with the Cleveland Browns or New York Jets, the Pittsburgh Steelers were always the thorn in wide receiver Braylon Edwards’ side. And it was Pittsburgh that prevented Edwards and the Jets from making the Super Bowl in 2010 in what would’ve been their first appearance since Joe Namath’s “guarantee” in 1968. For Edwards, he puts the blame squarely on one man. Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer.
Appearing on the NFL Players Second Acts podcast via the league’s channel, Edwards explained what went wrong.
“We played the Steelers the second time,” Edwards told the show. “We had just played them four weeks prior. I had 118 yards, Santonio [Holmes] did his thing. We took advantage because Troy [Polamalu] was injured…he didn’t play in that game. Took advantage, destroyed them. In the AFC Championship, changed the whole offensive game plan. Threw me one pass and it was on a fourth down and I converted.”
As Edwards outlined, the Steelers and Jets played in Week 15 of 2010. Despite being road underdogs, New York walked out with a 22-17 win. Edwards made up the bulk of their passing game, catching eight passes on 11 targets for 100 yards while Brad Smith ran back a kick for a touchdown and the Jets’ defense notched a fourth-quarter safety. They held one final time to prevent a game-winning Ben Roethlisberger drive.
Polamalu, who missed the regular-season game due to a sore Achilles, returned for the AFC Championship rematch. Edwards was a non-factor, and though he caught three passes that day instead of the one he references, his first grab didn’t come until late in the third quarter. In fairness, he was targeted several times before then but in his view, Schottenheimer didn’t call plays for him the way he did the first time.
Pittsburgh won, 24-19, and advanced to the Super Bowl, where it would lose to Green Bay. Edwards would leave for San Francisco for the 2011 season, playing a small role, before returning to the Jets in 2012. It would be his last NFL season. He never got the chance to play in the Super Bowl and blames one man for it.
“I’m not saying he had to get me the ball. But why go away from something that was working…I blame Brian Schottenheimer,” he said.
Edwards made similar comments regarding blame for the Jets’ AFC Championship Game loss in 2009 to the Indianapolis Colts, a game in which Edwards was targeted just twice and the Jets went conservative after a late first-half Colts turnover.
To offer grace to Schottenheimer, the Steelers getting Polamalu back may have been the reason for the Jets’ less big-play game plan. And Pittsburgh used Bart Scott’s “Can’t Wait” comments as extra fuel leading up to the game.
In his career, Edwards went 1-8 against the Steelers, his only win coming as a member of the Jets in the 2010 game he referenced above.
Schottenheimer is still coaching today. He was promoted as the Dallas Cowboys’ offensive coordinator in 2023, replacing Kellen Moore. He’ll look to guide the Cowboys through a crucial year where everyone’s job is seemingly on the line. It’s likely Edwards doesn’t have much confidence in him to get the job done.
