Antonio Brown: revenge not a factor
The Bengals’ Vontaze Burfict (55) runs into Antonio Brown during a playoff game Jan. 10 in Cincinnati.
Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown celebrates with running back DeAngelo Williams a game Monday in Landover, Md.
PITTSBURGH – Antonio Brown runs through most NFL defenses like a one-man wrecking crew, much as he did Monday night in Pittsburgh’s 38-16 win at Washington to open the 2016 season.
Brown’s ho-hum, eight-catch, 126-yard, two-touchdown effort against the Redskins is what the Steelers have come to expect from their star receiver. But with a game looming Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals (1-0) at Heinz Field, the stakes will be higher for Brown.
This is a Bengals’ team that, in Brown’s words, tried to “kill him and steal his dreams,” in the playoffs last January.
Brown, the AFC’s leading receiver in each of the past three seasons, was knocked out of the Steelers’ 18-16 Wildcard playoff win in Cincinnati by a vicious shoulder-to-helmet blow by linebacker Vontaze Burfict.
The illegal hit helped set up a game-winning field goal by the Steelers, but left Brown with a concussion and out of Pittsburgh’s 23-16 season-ending loss at Denver the following week.
Cornerback Adam Jones questioned several times if Brown was faking being injured, continuing to do so until Brown was declared out for the following week against Denver.
Burfict was suspended for three games by the NFL for that hit and will miss Sunday’s rematch, but that doesn’t mean Brown won’t have a little more hop in his step.
But not for the reasons you might think.
“The past doesn’t matter,” said Brown, who wasn’t cleared by doctors for the concussion he suffered on that play for two weeks.
“Looking back serves no purpose. We have to control what we can control in 2016. We’re excited about this challenge. Cincinnati is a good opponent coming off a win on the road against the Jets. It’s going to test where we’re at in the AFC North.”
It’s a far different response than the Bengals have had this season when questioned about the Steelers.
Last month, Burfict went on a profanity-laced tirade when asked about the Steelers and several of his teammates chimed in with expletive-filled responses.
But the Steelers seem to be much more businesslike in their approach – at least publicly.
Even Brown, who should have an axe to grind, isn’t putting any extra emphasis on this game.
“I don’t circle any game,” Brown said. “My goal is always the same. I want to perform the same every game.”
In three games last year against Cincinnati, Brown caught 20 passes for 253 yards and one touchdown. Those are hardly pedestrian numbers, but for a player of Brown’s talent, they pale in comparison to some of his other games.
Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis tried to downplay the rematch at his press conference Monday, regardless of what his team said earlier.
“This is a new team, new season, a new year,” said Lewis, a McDonald native and Fort Cherry High School graduate.
Odds and end zones
Tomlin said linebacker Ryan Shazier, who left Monday night’s win at Washington in the fourth quarter with a knee injury, was being checked by doctors Tuesday. Shazier said following the game he was fine. … Tomlin said wide receiver Markus Wheaton (shoulder), fullback Roosevelt Nix (back) and center Cody Wallace (knee) have a good chance to play against Cincinnati after sitting out the opener.