Dec 30, 2015 4 min read

PITTSBURGH – In a season when many of the Steelers’ stars missed a number of games, All-Pro wide receiver Antonio Brown was the glue that held the offense together.

Wednesday, Brown was honored by his teammates as the Steelers’ Most Valuable Player, joining Rod Woodson, Jerome Bettis and Hines Ward as the only three-time winners in the history of that award.

“It’s a tremendous honor to be mentioned with those three guys, and to win this,” said Brown. “It tells what I mean to my teammates and speaks volumes about what they think about me. It’s a great individual award, but it’s always about the team.”

Because of the position the Steelers put themselves in last Sunday with a loss at Baltimore, Brown, who leads the AFC with 123 receptions for 1,697 yards, has more important things on his mind.

The Steelers (9-6) head into Sunday’s regular season finale at Cleveland (3-12) needing a win and a loss by the Jets (10-5) at Buffalo (7-8) to earn a spot in the AFC playoffs.

Pittsburgh controlled its own playoff fate heading into last weekend’s game at Baltimore. A victory would have meant the Steelers needed to only beat Cleveland Sunday to secure a playoff spot.

“We knew what was at stake,” said Brown, who jokingly said he voted for himself and quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. “It’s just sad. Last year, we made the playoffs and Baltimore ruined out chances. We had another chance, and I don’t think we understood how important that moment was and what they did to us last year. I think we were just excited about the journey we were on. Moments like that, we’ve got to learn from, always remember that feeling.”

Brown did his part in the game, catching seven passes for 61 yards – both of which led the team – despite constant double coverage. He did have a touchdown catch overturned by replay officials and another catch on third-and-long when he was ruled out of bounds.

Brown still feels he had catches on both of those plays.

“Those two plays could have changed the outcome of the game,” Brown said.

Brown has been changing the outcomes of games since joining the Steelers as a sixth-round draft pick in 2010.

He played sparingly that season, but did have a big catch along the sideline late in the AFC Championship against Baltimore to set up the game-winning score and send the Steelers to the Super Bowl.

He has since caught 100 or more passes in each of the past three seasons – the first Pittsburgh player to accomplish the feat – including a team-record 129 last season, a total that ranks second in NFL history.

Brown was the one constant in the Steelers’ offense this season. Roethlibserger missed four full games and parts of four others with knee and foot injuries. All-Pro running back Le’Veon Bell, All-Pro center Maurkice Pouncey, starting left tackle Kelvin Beachum and receiver Martavis Bryant also have missed a combined 38 games because of injuries or suspensions, often making Brown the focal point of the Steelers’ attack.

“I think that’s the plan every week from our opponent,” said Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin, “to work to minimize Antonio Brown’s impact on the game.”

Sometimes, because of circumstances at quarterback or because of double teams, it has worked. Most of the time, however, it has not.

Brown already owns the NFL record for most catches in three consecutive seasons with 362. He needs one reception Sunday to move past Marvin Harrison for the most in a two-year period (252). He also became the first NFL player to have two games in the same season with 15 or more receptions in a game, doing so in wins over Oakland and Denver. Brown also was voted team MVP in 2011 and 2013. Not bad for a player who was a sixth-round draft pick in 2010.

“I’ve been blessed,” said Brown.

The Steelers are dealing with some illness issues as Roethlisberger, Bryant and linebacker James Harrison all were sent home sick Wednesday. … Safety Mike Mitchell (shoulder) and cornerback Antwon Blake (back) also did not practice, while cornerback Doran Grant (groin) was limited.