BALTIMORE — Antonio Brown didn’t quite go all Sean Rodriguez on that water cooler at the Steelers’ bench Sunday, but he and the big orange bucket did go at least a round inside the figurative ropes.
Look for yourself:
There was a lot more to the sequence than that, too. And had the team not prevailed, 26-9, over the Ravens and raised a general level of good feels, it likely would have been a much bigger deal.
As it was, it was mostly shrugged off as a case of AB being AB.
Here’s how it played out: Three minutes into the second quarter, on a day when he’d wind up with four catches for 34 yards, his exasperation — whether specific or cumulative — boiled to the top when Ben Roethlisberger failed to see him pop wide open behind Baltimore corner Jimmy Smith. The third-down pass fell incomplete.
AB immediately began waving his arms in frustration. When it appeared none of the Steelers noticed, he did it again. Then again. Then the water cooler. Then, he could be seen slapping Todd Haley’s hand off his back when his coordinator tried in vain to calm him, albeit with a tug of the back of his jersey:
I asked AB three questions about this, all of which drew unsurprisingly similar answers:
Roethlisberger, as he always does with his favorite target, tried to downplay it. He began his answer to a question on that topic with a laugh, then said, "I heard about it. AB's a playmaker, and he's very passionate. He feels he has to do everything he can to help us win. We’re fine now. Sometimes, there just aren’t enough footballs to go around.”
Le’Veon Bell did likewise.
"AB's passionate about the game," Bell said. "He would never be a distraction. He's trying to win the game and wants to be a part of it. When the game is tight, he feels like he needs to make a play. I'll always be behind him because I'm the same way."
Mike Tomlin wasn't asked about the incident in his press conference. Haley isn't available to media until Thursday.
• For all else that went right for the Steelers, so did the injury report, which didn't bring a single name from Tomlin's mouth afterward. Among those with existing injuries: Foster (thumb) told me he got through OK while joking that, "I couldn't hold anyone today." Jesse James (shoulder) told me he got through with any further damage, acknowledging he took care of it in specific situations. And Mike Mitchell (hamstring) told me, "It killed me not to be out there with my brothers," but he, too, sounded optimistic about facing the Jaguars next week.
• James Harrison fell ill Friday, according to the team, and was sent home from the practice at Rooney Sports Complex. He accompanied the Steelers on this trip but was made inactive because of the illness.
MATT SUNDAY GALLERY