KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- There's apparently nothing wrong with Ben Roethlisberger and Antonio Brown, meaning the collective, that one spectacular splash play can't cure.
But let's flash back first to earlier in the Steelers' 19-13 victory over the previously undefeated Chiefs on this Sunday evening at Arrowhead Stadium, to when Ben threw his lone interception.
A week after throwing, you know, five.
This should be a one-handed jam for these guys. It's a simple slant, with AB running a route he's run so often he probably traces the steps in his sleep.
Only one problem, and it's obvious: He stops running.
This was in the second quarter with the Steelers up six, and the Chiefs' Marcus Peters returned it to midfield. The defense rendered that moot, so the damage was minimal.
As were the repercussions, apparently.
"Yeah, I’m not sure what happened," Ben began when asked what he saw. "But yeah, he’s got a quick little slant route and I told him, ‘Boy, I wish you would’ve kept going because it would’ve been … ’ He might have come out the back door.”
Right. He'd still be running.
Immediately on the field, AB found his quarterback, looked his way and flapped his arms. Only this time, unlike Baltimore, it wasn't in frustration. It was in accountability:
Read his lips if you'd like but, after one foul word, he then speaks, "My bad."
Which he echoed afterward.
“In that situation, I've got to get better," AB said. "I can’t leave Ben out to dry. I've got to keep comin’.”
AB's got to get better, this after eight catches for 151 yards, including the one that essentially sealed victory late in the fourth quarter.
That, too, is a play we've seen countless times between these two, and by that I mean one where Ben basically releases the ball somewhere, anywhere in AB's vicinity, and he does so with confidence that somehow AB will secure it.
A prayer?
Nah, more like ample precedent.
Still, to the 76,944 crammed inside and to probably 104 of the game's 106 participants, it had to have looked like a pick, if not a pick-6.
For starters, this isn't even supposed to be a pass play. Ben checks out of the run when he doesn't like what he sees at the line. So start there.
Next, he stares down AB right from the line.
Next, he sees, as we all did, that Phillip Gaines, the corner on that side, hangs with AB stride for stride. In fact, he's in a far better position to make that catch than the guy he's covering.
Finally, since the quarterback's most critical read on a pass is always finding the safety, Ben also has to see that Daniel Sorenson is breaking that way, too.
So yeah, hey, heave the thing and see what happens.
“AB made a great play," Ben would beam. "But did he really, or is it just him being AB, you know? He’s the best in the world."
Good luck coming up with a counter. The pass is a bullet and, even though Gaines gets either a hand or his helmet or both to alter its path, AB keeps his concentration and body control lasered on the catch, pulls it in, then sprints away from the pack.
The key, as AB told me, was that he never lost sight of the ball:
What's more, neither man would come close to accepting that an interception looked likely.
Here's Ben: "We saw a matchup on their nickel guy, and I wanted the back shoulder a little bit more. I kind of went up the field a little more than I wanted to. He had a chance to make a play, but the ball got on him pretty quick and I thought, worst-case scenario, it’s incomplete. But AB's going to make a play, and he did just that. It was fun to watch it happen.”
Here's AB when asked if it looked like the pass might get picked: “It didn’t. Anytime he gives me an opportunity to make a play, it’s always a great throw. He might put a lot of zing on it where those guys couldn’t catch it. I’m always anticipating the ball to be a positive.”
Here's Sorensen from the opposite perspective: "If we make that play, maybe everything changes, maybe we win that game."
Maybe all of them are wrong, but it really doesn't matter.
MATT SUNDAY GALLERY
