Antonio Brown Partially Tears Calf, Expected Back For The Playoffs

The Steelers suffered a serious injury scare in their stunning defeat at the hands of the Patriots. The league’s best receiver Antonio Brown exited the game in the second quarter and got tests taken at a nearby hospital. Now the team has learned that the 29-year-old has partially torn his calf muscle and is expected to miss at least one week of game action, reports Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link). However, Schefter adds that Brown is likely to be back with the Steelers for the postseason.

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This is great news for a Steelers team that relies on Brown for much of their offensive production. Brown has been performing like a legitimate MVP candidate in 2017, but seemed to have suffered a serious injury when he left today’s game vs. New England. However, while Brown may be unable to finish the regular season, their star playmaker is expected back for postseason football, which puts the Steelers in a much better position moving forward.

Although, the injury could increase the urgency for the first round bye. After dropping today’s game, the Steelers are now in serious danger of losing their top two spot, especially knowing that the Jaguars own the tiebreaker head-to-head.

Head coach Mike Tomlin will have to rely on the team’s other young wideouts, Martavis Bryant and JuJu Smith-Schuster, to help offset the loss. You can also expect Le’Veon Bell to shoulder even more of the load in the passing game than he already does. Pittsburgh has two favorable matchups to end the season as the team is set to play Houston and Cleveland in Weeks 16 and 17, respectively.

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