The Pittsburgh Steelers offense has struggled to do much of anything, but Antonio Brown is doing his best to make the most it. Brown hauled in 12 receptions for 88 yards in the Steelers 34-27 loss to the Minnesota Vikings. Brown was targeted 13 times with a fairly even split in the first and second half.
Antonio Brown fantasy stock surges with Ben Roethlisberger targets
Antonio Brown hauled in 12 receptions in the Steelers loss to the Vikings. We break down the fantasy implications.
Jamie McDonald
Jerricho Cotchery led the team with 103 receiving yards and a touchdown, but his work came on only six targets. Roethlisberger focused on Brown for long stretches, but he still spread the ball around to Cotchery, Heath Miller (8 targets), Emmanuel Sanders (8 targets) and Le'Veon Bell and Markus Wheaton (5 targets apiece).
Fantasy impact: The Steelers are 0-4 for the first time in over 40 years, but one upside to continued losing is the Steelers find themselves forced into more passing situations. Roethlisberger attempted 51 passes as the Steelers fell behind 34-17 in the third quarter. It wasn’t a pretty performance by Big Ben, but when it comes to fantasy football, we only care about accruing fantasy points!
The Steelers have a bye in Week 5, and then return to face the New York Jets. The Jets were thumped by the Tennessee Titans, with Jake Locker looking particularly sharp in the first half. This could bode well for the Steelers passing offense. Antonio Brown looks like a solid WR 2 option in two weeks against the Jets.
