Pittsburgh Steelers: 5 reasons Antonio Brown must have big Week 13

Nov 15, 2015; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown (84) on the field for warm-ups before playing the Cleveland Browns at Heinz Field. The Steelers won 30-9. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

1. Colts give up lots of yards to No. 1 receivers

If Brown faced a less difficult Week 12 matchup, then we can only wonder what sort of a performance he would have been able to cook up, especially given how well Roethlisberger was slinging the ball against the Seattle secondary. Coming into that game, Brown was fresh off of a ten-catch, 139-yard, two-touchdown performance against the Cleveland Browns embarrassingly poor defense, and, prior to that, he toasted the Oakland Raiders with 284 receiving yards, easily the most by any player so far in the 2015 season.

It’s extremely unlikely for AB84 to best 284 at any point this season, but he will be going up against a pass defense that has been nearly as giving to No. 1 receivers this season. Per Football Outsiders, while the Colts secondary has actually been a top ten unit in DVOA allowed to No. 1 wideouts, they also allow a whopping 89.7 yards per game to such pass-catchers. Only the San Francisco 49ers, Oakland Raiders, Philadelphia Eagles, and Kansas City Chiefs surrender more.

That presents Brown with an excellent opportunity to shine, and it will be interesting to see just how many targets he absorbs. With Roethlisberger looking likely to suit up for this Sunday Night Football encounter, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Ed Bouchette, Brown should be in business.

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