Antonio Brown and the Pittsburgh Steelers Look to Get ‘Right’

The Pittsburgh Steelers came into the 2017 season with the pretty explicit aim of winning the AFC North and challenging for a Super Bowl. With QB Ben Roethlisberger on his last legs and the team’s future up in the air, especially with pending free agent LeVeon Bell, the time has rapidly become ‘now’. Despite their early 3 – 1 mark on the season Pittsburgh fans should still feel a little uncomfortable with the team. From infighting related to the National Anthem protests to star receiver Antonio Brown melting down on the sidelines, things aren’t looking perfect. Still, the future is now and AB and the rest of the Steelers are prepared to get right.

The Pittsburgh Steelers are coming off of a dominant outing as they trounced the Baltimore Ravens, 26 – 9. Still, things weren’t all peachy after the game. Star receiver Antonio Brown, widely regarded as the best in the entire league, was caught on the side of the field throwing a bucket of Gatorade before taking a swipe at his offensive coordinator, Todd Haley. Brown, who was held to season lows in catches and yardage, was absolutely furious with the way that he had been utilized at that point in the game. His actions were quickly and roundly condemned by both QB Ben Roethlisberger as well as the coaching staff in Pitts.

For his part, Antonio Brown tried to calm down reporters by issue an apology. Brown said, “You’ve got to do a better job of controlling emotions.” He would continue, “I don’t want to wake up and turn on the TV and you guys are talking about me throwing a tantrum.” Instead Brown advocated for focusing on how well Roethlisberger and the rest of the guys on the team have been playing.

QB Ben Roethlisberger revealed in a radio segment that Antonio Brown had approached him after the game and the two talked in order to downplay any sort of distraction or circus elements. The conversation included Antonio Brown telling Roethlisberger how appreciative he was of his ability to get him the ball and for giving him “every opportunity.” Roethlisberger said that Brown needs to focus on talking to each other more than throwing tantrums because it ruins his “superhuman” ability on Sunday.

Next week Pittsburgh will be heading home to host the incoming Jacksonville Jaguars. Pittsburgh can take a commanding lead in the AFC North with a victory here.