Brown’s miscues don’t hurt Steelers
Free kick after safety botched; cut short a route
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Antonio Brown caught the winning touchdown pass Sunday for the Steelers. The NFL’s leading receiver had eight catches for 155 yards for yet another 100-yard receiving game, his franchiserecord 33rd in his eight-year career.
But if the ball didn’t take a fortuitous bounce into his hands on his 51-yard touchdown the spotlight would have been on Brown for other reasons. He made two crucial mistakes in the game.
The first came early in the first quarter after the Steelers took a 2-0 lead on a safety. Brown failed to field the ensuing free kick. It bounced behind him and the Chiefs recovered.
“The kick was kicked short,” Brown said. “I was comingup full speed on it. The ball took a bounce, went in the other direction. We have to find a way to get the ball in that situation. We have to recover the ball and get us another possession in the game. We’re lucky it didn’t [determine] the outcome of the game. We have a lot of plays wecan get better from.”
The other mistake came early in the second quarter when he stopped a route, which led to Marcus Peterson intercepting Ben Roethlisberger.
“In that situation, I have to get better,” Brown said. “I can’t leave Ben out to dry. I have to keep coming.”
Luckily for Brown, the Chiefs could only manage to score 3 points off those mistakes. In the end, Brown made up for the mistakes by providing the winning points. After Chiefs corner Phillip Gaines bobbled the ball into the air, Brown tracked it right into his waiting arms.
“A.B. made a great play,” Roethlisberger said. “Did he really or is it just him being A.B., you know? He’s the best in the world. We saw a matchup on their nickel guy, and I wanted the back shoulder a little bit more. It kind of went up the field a little more than I wanted. He had a chance to make a play, but the ball got on him pretty quick, and I thought the worstcase scenario was the ball would be incomplete. But A.B. is going to make a play, and he did just that. It was fun to watch it happen.”
Brown sticks up for Ben
Brown was asked what it was like to see the criticism of Roethlisberger in this past week.
“I mean, it's not good,” Brown said. “Any time you [turn on] the TV and people are doubting his toughness, doubting his tenacity, it's not good. Anyone who said that is just [crazy].”
Report: Bryant wants out
NFL Network reporter Ian Rapoport reported Steelers receiver Martavis Bryant recently requested a trade. Rapoport said Steelers teammates and coaches are aware he is unhappy.
Bryant had two catches for 27 yards against the Chiefs. For the season, Bryant has 17 catches for 231 yards and one touchdown.
Bryant has not complained publicly about his role this season. In fact, he has been very team-oriented in interactions with reporters early this season.
Smith upset with Mitchell
Steelers safety Mike Mitchell said he was pushed into Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith when he received a 15-yard personal foul in the fourth quarter. A replay does show Mitchell being pushed by outside linebacker Anthony Chickillo as both tried to chase down Smith.
“I was clearly pushed in the back,” Mitchell said. “I didn’t even wrap because I wasn’t trying to make contact with him. I walked up to him afterward and was like I’ve known you for a long time. We don’t do that.”
Smith didn’t take kindly to the hit.
“I thought it was pretty late,” Smith said. “I mean when you get hit in the back of your knee like that I didn’t understand how that happened. Certainly, guys falling, rushing the quarterback I get hit when it’s happening from the front and guys are trying hard. That one to me just seemed so weird to get hit that low coming from behind.”
It’s unclear if the NFL would fine Mitchell for the low hit. It did appear to be accidental on his part.
This ’n’ that
Roethlisberger improved to 6-1 against the Chiefs in the regular season. … Brown reached 9,000 receiving yards in 109 games. It took Hines Ward 159 games to reach 9,000 receiving yards. Ward previously had the record for the fewest games to reach that milestone. ... Le’Veon Bell has rushed for 100 yards or more in every game (four) he has played against the Chiefs. … Chiefs linebacker Ukeme Eligwe sat on the bench during the national anthem. He was the only player on either team not to stand for the anthem.
Inactives
The Steelers deactivated offensive linemen Ramon Foster and Jerald Hawkins, linebacker Arthur Moats, tight end Xavier Grimble, quarterback Josh Dobbs, receiver Justin Hunter and nose tackle Daniel McCullers.
The Chiefs deactivated offensive linemen Mitch Morris and guard Laurent Duvenrnay-Tardif, receiver Albert Wilson, safety Steven Terrell, quarterback Tyler Bray, defensive lineman Jarvis Jenkins and linebacker Ramik Wilson.