Steelers’ problem Sunday was same as it’s been all season: No Bryant
Ben Roethlisberger leaves the field after the AFC Championship against the New England Patriots on Sunday in Foxborough, Mass. The Patriots won, 36-17, to advance to the Super Bowl.
New England Patriots cornerback Logan Ryan (26) breaks up a pass intended for Steelers wide receiver Eli Rogers (17) during the second half of the AFC Championship on Sunday in Foxborough, Mass.
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. 鈥� Ultimately, the Steelers were not done in by Le鈥橵eon蘑菇视频 Bell tender left groin.
No, their season came to an end Sunday night with a wildly disappointing 36-17 loss to New England in the AFC Championship, but not because of Antonio Brown蘑菇视频 locker room video.
The New England Patriots and the great Tom Brady didn鈥檛 need much more motivation than a seventh trip to the Super Bowl and a date with the Atlanta Falcons for that. Brady, pinpointed every throw in the underbelly of the Steelers鈥� soft zone defense.
Pittsburgh蘑菇视频 potent pass rush, vital to their just-concluded nine-game winning streak, was virtually non-existent.
The Steelers lost, but not because referee Terry McAulay and his crew didn鈥檛 see fit to throw a single penalty flag on the home team until after the game had been effectively decided.
The Steelers lost, but not because Bill Belichick was up to his dirty tricks in Foxborough, Ben Roethlisberger蘑菇视频 personal house of horrors. They lost, but not because the Steelers were somehow sleep-deprived from their 3 a.m. wakeup call at a Logan Airport hotel.
These were all contributing factors, of course, and can鈥檛 be overlooked.
But, really, the Steelers鈥� problem Sunday at Gillette Stadium was the same as it had been all season: No Martavis Bryant.
Try as they might, the Steelers never could replace the size, speed or playmaking ability of their suspended receiver.
A Steelers team that scored just two touchdowns in its last two playoff games, had no replacement for Bryant, who had scored 14 touchdowns in just 21 games the previous two seasons.
Sammie Coates and Cobi Hamilton just aren鈥檛 Martavis Bryant.
鈥淲e didn鈥檛 make enough of the plays,鈥� coach Mike Tomlin said afterward. 鈥淭hat蘑菇视频 life. You get an opportunity, you get a combat catch opportunity, you get play-making opportunities, you got to make them. You know, when you鈥檙e a championship-caliber player, championship level football 鈥� We didn鈥檛 do enough.鈥�
Coates hasn鈥檛 been the same player since October 9, when he broke a pair of fingers that required surgery. The second-year pro had two receptions Sunday, his first multi-catch game since that game in Week 5.
Yes, that was Coates who dropped a would-be TD on the Steelers鈥� opening possession, setting the tone for what was to come. On a third-and-1 at the Pittsburgh 31, Roethlisberger looked deep to Coates, who had a step on the New England cornerback. The ball went right through his hands.
Broken fingers or not, sagging confidence or not, Coates absolutely has to make that catch.
鈥淵ou lose your confidence when you go down, and not contributing,鈥� Coates said. 鈥淚 had a chance to make a couple plays, and it蘑菇视频 going to bug me until I get back.鈥�
Hamilton, a nice story after coming off the practice squad in October, just isn鈥檛 a No. 2 receiver in this league.
That was Hamilton in the second quarter who had a would-be Roethlisberger TD pass bounce off his numbers. And in the fourth quarter, that was Hamilton who had a touchdown negated by running out of the end zone prior to his catch.
鈥淲e鈥檝e got to score touchdowns in the red zone,鈥� said Hamilton, who added a trivial fourth-quarter TD. 鈥淒oesn鈥檛 matter, we just have to score touchdowns.鈥�
Given the injuries and the suspensions to their depleted receiving corps, which also didn鈥檛 have a tight end Ladarius Green yet again, the Steelers and position coach Richard Mann deserve full credit for getting as far as they did with what they had.
Sunday, in a battle of 鈥済ood vs. good鈥� as Tomlin likes to say, when New England got 180 receiving yards from Chris Hogan, the Steelers just didn鈥檛 have nearly enough weapons.
It was only a further frustrating reminder of what the Steelers could have been, should have been, if only Bryant had been available to them.
This was an offense that was supposed to put up 30 points per game. It was an offense that was supposed to be the latter day version of the Greatest Show on Turf. This was supposed to be an offense that was supposed to challenge NFL single-season records for passing and receiving. That never came close to happening.
Without a No. 2 receiver, without Bryant, Antonio Brown became way too easy to defend and leaving Roethlisberger with few reliable targets to throw. Brown, who had seven catches for 77 yards, declined to speak to reporters after Sunday蘑菇视频 loss.
鈥淚t蘑菇视频 a little frustrating because we talk about sometimes it蘑菇视频 just one play here, one play there and tonight we didn鈥檛 make those plays,鈥� said Roetlhisberger. 鈥淲as it too big? I don鈥檛 know. We need to make every single play in a game like this against an opponent like this.鈥�
During their run to the AFC Championship, the Steelers leaned heavily on Bell, becoming a run-heavy team. DeAngelo Williams, as he has throughout his tenure with the Steelers, turned in a strong performance 鈥� 85 scrimmage yards 鈥� filling in for Bell, who went down in the first half. Even if Bell had been healthy, it蘑菇视频 questionable what impact he鈥檇 have had against the NFL蘑菇视频 third-ranked run defense. The Steelers will never know but, man, it would have been fun to find out.
The Steelers鈥� 鈥淜iller Bs鈥� of Ben, Bell and Brown were all healthy, something that hadn鈥檛 happened in their previous two playoff runs. Maybe next year, pending his reinstatement from the league, Bryant will return. Clearly, he was missed Sunday.
鈥淵ou can always wonder, I think we were pretty healthy for the most part, we can appreciate that,鈥� guard David DeCastro said. 鈥淗opefully, we鈥檒l get him back next year, right. So we鈥檒l see.鈥�
After reaching the wildcard in 2014, the division round in 2015 and the conference championship this year, the next obvious step for the Steelers is to get back to the Super Bowl.
The Steelers can feel good about this season and should be better in 2017, especially if Bryant is back. But today, this loss feels like an opportunity lost.
鈥淗opefully this is learning game for guys to understand that this isn鈥檛 promised to anybody,鈥� Roethlisberger said. 鈥淭omorrow蘑菇视频 not promised to any of us and just to make the playoffs isn鈥檛 enough to get to this championship game.鈥�