The hyped up matchup between star receiver Antonio Brown and corner Josh Norman didn't live up to the billing on Monday night. The reason? It didn't even happen.
During last night's contest between the Washington Redskins and Pittsburgh Steelers, Norman, a high-priced free agent acquisition in the offseason, rarely found himself matched up against the speedy Brown. Instead, Bashaud Breeland was given the nearly impossible assignment of stopping Brown. Not surprisingly, it didn't happen.
Norman broke up both passes that came Brown's way while defending him. It was a different story with Breeland:
I'm not saying tracking would have worked better, but…
Brown v Breeland: 8 of 9, 113 yards, 2 TDs
Brown v Norman: 0 of 2, 2 PDs— Sam Monson (@PFF_Sam) September 13, 2016
Brown finished with 126 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
After the game, Redskins head coach Jay Gruden didn't express any regret for not putting Norman on Brown.
From ESPN's John Keim:
“He got beat by a great player,” Redskins coach Jay Gruden said. “And some great passes that I don't know what corner can defend.”
He did admit that his tactics could change in the future:
“I'm not going to lose faith in Breeland, but there could be merit to that down the road,” Gruden said. “I love our two corners. They just made some great throws and great catches.”
And, to his credit, Norman took the high road when asked if he felt he should've been on Brown:
“That's why the guy brought me here, faith in me to do my job and not question one thing in the game plan,” Norman said. “I have total, 100 percent faith in Coach Joe B. Everything he wants us to do, I'm 110 percent. So if you're looking for something from me, you aren't getting it. I don't have anything.”
Still, when you give somebody a $75 million contract to play corner, you expect them to slow down the opponent's best receiver. Redskins fans have a right to be puzzled.
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