For the first 40 minutes of the game, Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown was a ubiquitous presence on the field, as he is routinely. It is rare that the All-Pro talent ever comes off the field for the Steelers’ offense outside of extraneous circumstances, such as in the victory formation.
By that point in the game, Brown had logged 43 consecutive snaps, and was likely well on his way, yet again, to playing every snap of the game for Pittsburgh. But then he sat down for nine straight snaps, returning for the final two plays of that drive.