Turning Points: Antonio Brown goes over Humphrey for record-setting touchdown catch

Could’ve. Would’ve. Should’ve. These words define those who fall short of their goals. Such is the case of this series, which will examine the ebbs and flows of the Pittsburgh Steelers 2018 season and how specific individual plays may have shaped the year.

In Week 4 of the 2018 NFL regular season, the Pittsburgh Steelers had one of their flattest offensive performances and horrible defense against the Baltimore Ravens. Had the Steelers played better, they would have swept the division rival and could have taken the AFC North. Instead, down the road, the Ravens would earn the crown despite their own struggles. One of the highlights of the game was a hook-up between Ben Roethlisberger and Antonio Brown that everyone had been waiting for after watching ‘Big Ben’ try to find ‘AB’ during the majority of the game.

After the Steelers defense finally forced a three-and-out, Roethlisberger was able to put together a five-play, 76-yard drive with just over two minutes left in the first half of the game. The drive began with Vance McDonald getting physical and catching passes of 11 and 33 yards respectively. On the pass that resulted in the touchdown, Roethlisberger shuffled in the pocket to avoid pressure and found Brown a step ahead of Marlon Humphrey. Brown was able to get over the top of the defender for the score. James Conner would successfully get into the end zone for a two-point conversion.

What made the play special was that Roethlisberger and Brown hadn’t been on the same page for nearly the entire game, and it was just the third touchdown catch in 2018 for Brown at the time. It did increase his career total to 62 (one touchdown reception short of tying John Stallworth) and made Brown the only NFL player to have at least 5,000 receiving yards in home games since 2010 (5,280).

The game, however, seemed to be indicative of what was to come if the two veterans continued to struggle to play to each others’ strengths versus battling over would do more to help the offense. Looking back, the eventual loss to the Ravens showed that Roethlisberger and Brown could get the “WiFi” working if they cooperated but it also demonstrated that the duo was not the one-two punch they’d been in the past and the offense suffered as a result. As the offense went, the defense seemed to follow with few highlights in the game on either side of the ball beyond this 26-yard catch.