Antonio Brown is just freakishly talented.
Brown isn’t tall or long, in the mode of a Randy Moss or Julio Jones. Instead, he combines top-level speed and quickness with precise routes and field awareness, while also possessing some fantastic hands.
He’s more in the mold of Marvin Harrison in those respects, and tonight he demonstrated why those skills are so valuable.
Facing a feisty Green Bay Packers squad that wasn’t expected to put up much of a fight at Heinz Field, the Steelers forced a punt with less than 30 seconds left. Brown fielded the punt and made a few tacklers miss, but his return didn’t leave the Steelers in a great spot; at their own 30, with 2 timeouts and 17 seconds to go.
So, naturally, Brown did this:
Are you kidding me? That’s one of those catches that, live, looks to be impossible. Credit the officials though, because on replay, there was enough for Ed Hochuli to confirm their call of a completion. Take a look at how textbook Brown’s catch is:
Brown caught another deep out after that, which set the Steelers up in field goal range. After a completion to LeVeon Bell actually lost a couple of yards, the Steelers sent Chris Boswell out for a game-winning field goal attempt. At 53 yards, a make would not only win the game, but set the record for longest made field goal at Heinz Field:
And with that, the Steelers prevailed, 31-28. It was an oddly close game, considering Brett Hundly has yet to inspire much confidence in relief of Aaron Rodgers. But the Steelers have Antonio Brown every week, while their opponents decidedly do not.
