Broncos CB eager for rematch with top WR

When they take the field Sunday, Broncos cornerback Chris Harris Jr . will have waited 1,072 days for his rematch with Pittsburgh Steelers receiver Antonio Brown.

“It’s the best versus the best,” Harris proclaimed. Brown got the best of Harris last time.

The star cornerback hadn’t surrendered a touchdown in 35 games before Brown scored twice on him in man coverage in the Steelers’ 34-27 comeback in Pittsburgh on Dec. 20, 2015.

“I hope we see them again,” Harris said afterward, and the feeling was certainly mutual — Brown caught 16 passes for 189 yards that night.

It appeared Harris would get his wish a month later when the Steelers visited Denver for an AFC divisional playoff game. Brown didn’t get to play, however, after taking a vicious hit to the head from Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfict the week before, a foul that set up Pittsburgh’s gamewinning field goal in a wild-card game at Cincinnati. Harris was dealing with a bruised left rotator cuff that basically turned him into a one-armed tackler, but he helped the Broncos beat the Brown-less Steelers 2316, propelling them on their Super Bowl title run. Although Denver (4-6) hasn’t been back to the playoffs since, Harris remains one of the game’s great shutdown cornerbacks. His interception of Philip Rivers last week made him the only player in the NFL with multiple interceptions each of the past seven seasons. Brown is just as good as ever, too, helping the Steelers (7-2-1) stay atop the AFC North year after year. His 11 TD catches this season are tied with Kansas City ’s Tyreek Hill for the league lead.

Of his 130 games, including the playoffs, Harris has never had a worse game than he did the previous time he faced Brown.