Postseason weapon is back
Bryant excelled in the playoffs two seasons ago
The Steelers have plenty of proven postseason performers on their roster. One need only look to perennial All-Pro Antonio Brown, who has four 100-yard receiving games in his past five playoff contests. There’s also running back Le’Veon Bell, who set the franchise record for rushing yards in a playoff game in back-to-back weeks last year in the first two playoff games of his career.
The Steelers will add one more Sunday when Martavis Bryant returns to the NFL’s postseason after missing last year’s playoffs while serving a yearlong suspension.
It has been two years since he last played in the postseason, but Bryant’s short postseason resume is chock full of resplendent plays. His most famous catch — one of the greatest in NFL playoff history — came in an AFC wild-card game in Cincinnati after the 2015 season. It might as well have been on the Las Vegas strip at a Cirque du Soleil show.
Bryant somehow managed to possess a pass from Ben Roethlisberger by passing it between his legs like a basketball player and trapping the ball against his thigh as he did a somersault to the ground.
That was one of Bryant’s five catches in the game. He also had a 40-yard run on a reverse to help the Steelers turn back the Bengals, 18-16.
The following week in an AFC divisional round game in Denver, Bryant was even better. He had nine catches for 154 yards plus two more runs for 44 yards. Bryant took over as the No. 1 receiver in the 23-16 loss, a contest Brown missed with a concussion.
“I’ve been there before, so it’s nothing new for me,” Bryant said. “The playoffs are just a bigger opportunity to go be great. That’s how I look at it.”
In three playoff games, Bryant has 19 receptions for 244 yards and two touchdowns. He also has chipped in 90 rushing yards on four carries. As rookie in 2014, he scored the only touchdown for the Steelers in their loss to the Ravens in an AFC wild-card game at Heinz Field.
“The more big-time players you have, the better,” offensive coordinator Todd Haley said. “We have a nice group with ability and guys who not only can make plays but have made plays in big situations for us. It’s comforting from a coaching standpoint to know that you have guyswho have been there.”
Bryant had a difficult season in many ways. He was bypassed on the depth chart by rookie JuJu SmithSchuster. He requested a trade and was benched for a game for the way he handled it. He didn’t have a 100-yard receiving game in the regular season and scored just three touchdowns.
Bryant went from being the team’s second-leading receiver in 2015 to fourth in the pecking order behind Brown, Smith-Schuster and Bell, who had more receptions and receiving yards as a running back.
Yet, there were signs late in the season that Bryant was turning a corner. Three of his best games came toward the end of the season. He tied his season-high with six receptions in the regularseason finale in a game Brown missed with his calf injury.
Brown is expected back in the lineup Sunday, but the Steelers are hoping Bryant can rekindle the magic he displayed in the 2015 postseason when he was equally dangerous as a receiver and a runner.
“It’s just a bigger stage to show people who you are and go out and make a name for yourself,” Bryant said. “I’ve been in the playoffs every year since I’ve been in the league. I always do well. I just want to keep it up.”
‘Watershed’ moment
The regular-season game against the Jaguars was ugly in many respects for the Steelers. It was their worst loss of the season by far. There were the five interceptions by Ben Roethlisberger and subpar performances by his offensive linemen.
And yet Haley said Thursday that game was a turning point for his offense. Since scoring a season-low 9 points against the Jaguars in Week 5, the Steelers averaged 27.9 points per game over the final 11 games of the regular season.
“That game for our entire group was kind of a watershed moment,” Haley said. “We stayed together. There was a lot of pressure from the outside. There were a lot of factors that could have been divisive in some way for our group, but I take my hat off to the guys. They stuck together. They pulled together tighter. We knew that wasn’t our best football, and we knew it probably wasn’t as bad as it appeared. It went the most negative way it could go in that game.
“Looking back at it, I think it was a big game for us because how we responded to it was very critical. I always talk to the guys about a quote I lean all the time. ‘The way you handle the adversity is more important than the adversity itself.’ I think that was a great example. Our guys handled some real adversity very well, moved forward and got better.”
Injury report
Three defensive starters — cornerback Artie Burns (knee), defensive end Stephon Tuitt (elbow) and defensive tackle Javon Hargrave (back) — did not practice Thursday. Burns and Tuitt said they hope to play Sunday. … Receiver Antonio Brown (calf) was a full participant for the second day in a row and offensive lineman B.J. Finney was a full participant after being limitedWednesday.