Brown makes the extraordinary seem ordinary against Ravens CB

Antonio Brown is no stranger to big catches down the right sideline against the Baltimore Ravens at Heinz Field, especially late in the fourth quarter.

He did it in the 2010 AFC divisional playoff game, catching a 58-yarder on third-and-19 that he pinned against his helmet and set up the winning touchdown.

And he did it again Sunday night, catching a 34-yarder behind cornerback Brandon Carr on third down with 62 seconds remaining, setting up Chris Boswell for his fourth game-winning field goal in the past five games and setting up the Steelers for a showdown Sunday with the New England Patriots.

“He’s the best in the world,” center Maurkice Pouncey said.

“He’s on a different level,” guard David DeCastro said. “It looks like he’s playing a video game.”

The previous time the Ravens were at Heinz Field, Brown beat them with his “Immaculate Extension” touchdown with nine seconds remaining. This time, it was a series of big plays — four catches of 28 yards or longer.

Brown tied his season-high with 11 catches on 18 targets in the 39-38 comeback victory, and his 213 receiving yards were his most since he had 284 against the Oakland Raiders Nov. 8, 2015. Picking out his biggest catches was like Steelers guard David DeCastro on receiver Antonio Brown: “It looks like he’s playing a video game.” trying to figure out which Christmas present to open first.

He had a 57-yard catch-and-run in the fourth quarter to set up Roosevelt Nix’s 1-yard touchdown catch that cut Baltimore’s lead to 31-29.

And he had catches of 28 yards to set up a touchdown and 43 yards to set up a field goal in the first half when the Steelers built a 20-14 halftime lead.

But it was the 34-yarder down the right sideline, when he got behind Carr, that made the biggest difference.

And he did all this despite rarely practicing last week because of his injured big toe.

“They know they’re watching him, but they can’t stop him,” wide receiver Darrius HeywardBey said. “He barely practices all week and he goes out and gets the job done. That’s a true pro.”

Roethlisberger set career highs with attempts (66) and completions (44) and his 506 passing yards were 16 shy of his career best. What’s more, he did not have an interception against a defense that was leading the NFL in takeaways (29) and interceptions (20).

“I trust and believe in [Brown],” Roethlisberger said. “Our chemistry together is something pretty special.”

The Ravens were playing their first game without top cornerback Jimmy Smith, who sustained a season-ending Achilles injury last week against the Detroit Lions. Smith was replaced by rookie Marlon Humphrey, the team’s No. 1 draft choice, but the Ravens chose to have Carr line up against Brown in most situations. That didn’t work out too well. Carr was beaten on both big receptions by Brown in the first half that resulted in 10 points. And he gave up the 34-yarder with 1:02 remaining that allowed the Steelers to rally for yet another victory.

Brown now has 99 catches for 1,509 yards after 13 games. He is on pace for 122 catches, which would be his third-highest season total, and 1,857 yards, which would top his career-best 1,834 yards in 2015.

“Ben was on point and A.B. was doing A.B.-type things,” DeCastro said. “The passing was there so we passed.”

The Ravens have seen it before.