Antonio Brown vs Raiders (23 targets, 17 receptions, 284 yards)

Earlier this season I took a look at Antonio Brown as he faced off versus Patriots’ cornerback Malcolm Butler. In that match-up, Brown was targeted 13 times collecting nine of them for 133 yards and a touchdown. In a shootout this week against the promising Oakland Raiders, Antonio Brown was targeted a career high 23 times. Of those 23 targets, he caught 17 of them for 284 receiving yards. Both represent career bests for the six-year veteran out of Central Michigan. This performance was enough for while ProFootballFocus to give Brown the highest score they have ever given to a wide receiver at +8.8

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Before we look at the tape, let’s take a look at when Brown was targeted, where he was targeted, and what route he ran versus the Raiders.

Pass Breakdown

Location Breakdown

Passes are measured from the line of scrimmage to the receiver. Short passes are less than 6 yards, intermediate passes are between 6 and 15 yards, while deep passes are passes greater than 15 yards deep. First number represents the number of completions at this location, while the second represents the total targets.

It’s safe to say the Steelers love running plays to Brown on the right-side of the field. Three of these passes were short inward breaking routes, two were short outward breaking routes, while the final three were screen passes.

Route Breakdown

These are the routes Antonio Brown ran while being targeted by Ben Roethlisberger and Landry Jones. The most used route in this offense was the sideline-out pass featured here:

This route allows the Steelers to use Brown’s quickness on his cuts to gain separation by the sideline away from his defender.

*Note: The screen pass that was not completed was due to a low throw by Ben Roethlisberger
**Note: This post-corner was actually intercepted by cornerback David Amerson and will be discussed later in the article.

Three Passes for 157 Yards

The first play we will look at is at the end of the 1st quarter.

Steelers line up in I-formation with 22-personnel with two running backs and two tight ends. Typically used for power running, the Steelers use this formation to sell a play-action fake to target Brown on a deep post route over the middle of the field.

The Raiders are in Cover 3 faking man-to-man coverage on the outside. There is a clear breakdown between free safety #24 Charles Woodson and cornerback #25 DJ Hayden. Hayden thought Woodson was going to take coverage responsibility over Brown since Brown entered his zone, but Woodson stays put and gets caught looking in the backfield. Fortunately for Woodson the ball is underthrown as this is an easy 83 yard touchdown if Roethlisberger can thrown the ball to Brown in-stride.

The second play we will look at happend in the 2nd quarter.

Brown lines up as the left wide out in the Steelers’ shotgun slot right formation. Brown uses a jump-cut off of the line of scrimmage and then explodes inside turning cornerback David Amerson’s hips to follow him in trail technique. Amerson attempts to slow him down by grabbing him from behind, but Brown uses his speed to create the necessary separation away from the extending cornerback.

Roethlisberger releases the ball towards the sideline as he gets hit by linebacker Aldon Smith. Brown looks over his shoulder and tracks the ball to catch it by the sideline. He avoids the leg tackle by Amerson, but gets forced out of bounds for a 41 yard gain on the play.

Finally, the third play set up the Steelers’ game-winning field goal in the final minute of regulation. This is a simple rub-concept meant to get Brown open underneath #11 Markus Wheaton. The play works to perfection getting Brown into the open field. Additionally, Woodson over-runs his safety responsibilities and is out of position to make a play on Brown allowing him to scamper down the field for 57 yards.

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