The Film Room: Antonio Brown's fade routes proved impossible to cover for Bashaud Breeland

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Instead of the shootout we were promised, the Monday Night Football match between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Washington Redskins turned into a one-sided affair. The Steelers destroyed the Redskins for three straight quarters after surrendering six points in the first quarter. In this game, Antonio Brown gained 126 yards and two touchdowns on 11 targets and led the offense in an unending slaughter of Redskins’ third-year cornerback Bashaud Breeland.

In this video breakdown, I discussed how Antonio Brown and Ben Roethlisberger performed against Bashaud Breeland and Josh Norman.

Here is a detailed breakdown of his targets during the game and who was in coverage.

The Redskins used Bashaud Breeland in man-to-man coverage and the Steelers exposed him along with a strong run game that couldn’t be stopped. Brown is one of the best, if not the best, wide receivers in the National Football League. When a team is rhythm and has a QB-WR combination like Roethlisberger-Brown, Rodgers-Nelson, or Wilson-Baldwin, they are nearly impossible to stop.

The Seattle Seahawks won’t face either team (barring playoffs), but some of these plays should remind you of my film breakdown on Antonio Brown versus Richard Sherman (here), and how Sherman used his physicality to best Brown. Something that very few cornerbacks have done recently.