Even though Antonio Brown basically forced the Pittsburgh Steelers to ship him Federal Express across the country, the team still felt that it was in a good position in the passing game. JuJu Smith-Schuster was emerging as a star with a 111-catch, 1426-yard Pro Bowl season. Vance McDonald was coming off a career year. They added Donte Moncrief in free agency, who would flourish with Ben Roethlisberger, An Actual Good Quarterback.
None of that went according to script. Roethlisberger’s elbow injury became too much by the end of the first half of the second game.