Steelers rule out Brown, Williams; Big Ben questionable
PITTSBURGH – No NFL team has ever gone into a playoff game without its leading rusher and leading receiver.
The Steelers will change that Sunday in Denver.
Wide receiver Antonio Brown and running back DeAngelo Williams were officially ruled out for the Steelers’ AFC Divisional Playoff game against the Broncos, leaving them without two of their top leaders on offense against the league’s top-rated defense. Brown is dealing with a concussion, while Williams will miss his second straight game with a sprained foot.
The news was better regarding the status of quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.
Roethlisberger was able to do some throwing Friday in practice and is officially listed as questionable with a shoulder injury.
The Steelers ruled out Brown, who has led the NFL in receptions in each of the past two seasons, before they had even practiced on Friday. He had passed through the early portions of concussion protocol, but couldn’t get through the final stages early Friday morning.
Brown was injured on Pittsburgh’s final offensive play of their 18-16 victory in Cincinnati last Saturday on a hit from Bengals’ linebacker Vontaze Burfict that drew a 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty. Burfict was later suspended for three games by the NFL for the hit.
Without Brown, who set team records with 136 receptions for 1,834 yards to go along with 10 touchdowns, the Steelers will rely on a receiver rotation of Markus Wheaton, Martavis Bryant and Darrius Heyward-Bey.
“He’s a great player. We get a lot of balls to him,” said Steelers offensive coordinator Todd Haley. “So you are always going to miss somebody like that.”
Brown had 16 receptions for 189 yards and two touchdowns in Pittsburgh’s 34-27 come-from-behind win over Denver Dec. 20.
“You can never just plug someone in for A.B. because A.B. is pretty special,” said Roethlisberger, who also was injured by Burfict on a sack last week against the Bengals. “We’ve had guys step up all year. We have faith and confidence that the next guy will step up and be the best he can be.”
It won’t be easy. The Broncos possess a pair of Pro Bowl cornerbacks: Chris Harris and Aqib Talib. Harris shadowed Brown with little success when the two teams met during the regular season and Talib stuck with the 6-4 Bryant.
Bryant had 10 receptions for 87 yards in that game, while Wheaton recorded six catches for 62 yards to help Roethlisberger become the only quarterback this season to throw for 300 or more yards against Denver. He threw for 380 yards and three touchdowns. Williams was limited to 26 yards rushing on 14 carries, but he did contribute five catches for 30 yards.
He’ll be replaced for the second consecutive week by Fitzgerald Toussaint and Jordan Todman. The duo combined for 123 rushing yards and 60 receiving last week against the Bengals.
“They did what we thought they would do,” said Steelers guard Ramon Foster. “We have a lot of faith in those guys and I think what they did can only help their confidence as well.”
Steelers assistant coaches Joey Porter and Mike Munchak were both fined $10,000 for their actions in last weekend’s win at Cincinnati. … Foster was fined just over $17,000 for unnecessary roughness. … Cincinnati cornerback Adam “Pacman” Jones incurred a fine of nearly $29,000 for unsportsmanlike conduct for shoving an official while attempting to go after Porter. That penalty, along with the one incurred by Burfict, helped set up Chris Boswell’s game-winning field goal. … Bengals defensive linemen Domata Peko and Wallace Gilberry also were fined $8,681 each for unnecessary roughness.