Antonio Brown insists he’s still in sync with Ben Roethlisberger even though their numbers together are down. from linchao's blog

Roethlisberger and Brown are one of the most prolific quarterback-wide receiver tandems in NFL history https://www.steelerssportshop.com/Mike-Hilton-Jersey , but the duo has struggled to find a rhythm through four games as Pittsburgh has stumbled to a 1-2-1 start.They’ll seek consistency entering the Steelers‘ home game Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons.“It’s like Wi-Fi,” Brown said Friday. “Sometimes the connection is poor. Sometimes the connection is great. But it’s always connected.”Brown eclipsed 1,500 yards receiving three of the last four years and is the only player in NFL history to have five straight seasons with at least 100 receptions. Last season, the four-time All-Pro averaged 15.2 yards per catch on 101 receptions and he led the league with 1,533 yards, but his statistics are down this year.Brown’s 53 targets are second-most in the league, but he has just 29 receptions for 272 yards receiving and a 9.4-yard per catch average, well below his 13.4-yard career mark. Brown maintained Friday that his relationship with Roethlisberger is strong.“Me and Ben laugh about (the media) creating drama, writing about us, trying to create adversity and distractions,” Brown said. “We actually text about it. We communicate a lot on text messages about you guys.”Roethlisberger and Brown have connected on 723 completions https://www.steelerssportshop.com , good for the fourth-most in NFL history between a quarterback and wide receiver. Their 62 touchdowns are the most in franchise history, and one score Sunday will tie Roethlisberger and Brown for No. 10 all-time with Johnny Unitas and Raymond Berry.Roethlisberger, who currently ranks second in the league with 1,414 passing yards, blamed himself for Brown’s slow start.“I think I just have to play better to help him get his numbers, which would help us get wins,” Roethlisberger said.Last week against Baltimore, Brown caught five passes for 62 yards and a touchdown on 11 targets. He was targeted five times in the second half, but caught one pass for five yards as Pittsburgh managed just 47 yards of offense after halftime during a 26-14 loss.Brown believes a win against the Falcons can cure the Steelers’ woes.“We’re going to make our plays,” said Brown, who needs one touchdown catch to tie John Stallworth for third-most in franchise history. “The plays will be there. We just gotta find a way to win.”Steelers’ coach Mike Tomlin expects Roethlisberger and Brown to rebound.“They’ll smooth it out Pittsburgh Steelers Customized Jerseys ,” Tomlin said. “Oftentimes people spend a lot of time to minimize tandems such as (Roethlisberger and Brown), and usually over the course of the journey the cream rises, and they’ll show what they are capable of. They have done it for a long time. They’ll be the formidable tandem that they always are.”NOTES: S Morgan Burnett (groin), LB Vince Williams (hamstring) and WR Darrius Heyward-Bey (ankle) are all listed as doubtful for Sunday’s game against Atlanta. Burnett would miss his third straight game. Williams’ streak of 83 consecutive regular-season games played 鈥?fourth-longest among active NFL linebackers 鈥?is expected to end. CB Mike Hilton is expected to return after missing the Ravens game with an elbow injury. CINCINNATI (AP) — Fans in the upper deck at Paul Brown Stadium hung a banner that read: “Make Them Respect Us.” Instead, the Steelers broke their hearts in the last minute all over again.The Bengals let yet another one slip away against their AFC North rival, and this one hurt in many familiar ways. Antonio Brown’s 31-yard catch-and-run for a touchdown with 10 seconds left sent Pittsburgh to a 28-21 victory Sunday.It’s seven and a row and counting in a one-sided rivalry that always seems to turn out the Steelers’ way.“I can’t really explain it,” said receiver Tyler Boyd, who had two touchdown catches .Whenever they come to Cincinnati, the Steelers (3-2-1) have confidence they can pull another one out no matter how far down, no matter how little time is left. They’ve done it repeatedly during that seven-game winning streak.When Joe Mixon scored on a four-yard touchdown run with 1:18 to go, the Bengals (4-2) celebrated as though they’d finally gotten that breakthrough win. They should have known better.“We left enough time on there for them to go down and score Pittsburgh Steelers T-Shirts ,” receiver Alex Erickson said.The Steelers knocked the Bengals out of the playoffs in 2015 with the help of Vontaze Burfict’s hit to Brown’s head, which set up Chris Boswell’s field goal for an 18-16 victory with 14 seconds left. During the seven-game streak, the Steelers have rallied from deficits of 17-0 and 17-3 to win at Paul Brown Stadium. Last December, Boswell’s 38-yard field goal on the final play gave Pittsburgh a 23-20 win.Brown’s touchdown was the latest entry to the litany of letdowns.“Imagine how we feel,” cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick said. “I imagine how the fans feel.”They stood stunned as thousands of Steelers fans among them twirled their yellow towels in celebration. When Andy Dalton’s pass fell incomplete to end it, a scuffle broke out among players on the field as fans headed for the exits.The numbers are staggering. The Bengals are 8-25 against the Steelers during coach Marvin Lewis’ 16 seasons, including 2-16 at Paul Brown Stadium, including two playoff losses. Overall, Cincinnati has lost 10 of 11 and 15 of 18 in the series.The Bengals’ defense was depleted by injuries on the final drive, but the decision to go for an all-out blitz and leave no safeties to protect the end zone wound up costing them. Ben Roethlisberger saw the defense line up and knew it could be a touchdown if he got the ball to Brown quickly. Brown ran untouched to the end zone, cutting behind Justin Hunter’s block.“We are not going to second-guess anything https://www.steelerssportshop.com/hats ,” Lewis said. “They made the play and we didn’t.”The game also added another layer of hard feelings. Burfict traded words with Roethlisberger 3 minutes into the game, and a teammate had to push Burfict away from James Conner to prevent a penalty after the Steelers running back scored a touchdown.Burfict hit Brown in the head as he was being tackled after a reception in the third quarter. The play wasn’t flagged, but Brown got up woozy and had to miss a couple of plays before returning. The NFL is expected to review the play.“A nasty hit,” Brown said.After the game, Burfict yelled at a reporter who asked a Bengals player about the hit. Lewis declined to comment on it.“I don’t know what play you are talking about,” he said. “There were a lot of plays out there.”