The numbers for wide receiver Antonio Brown this season resemble a Thanksgiving cornucopia of excess. But Brown remains hungry mostly for Ws.
"I just want to continue to work and get better," he said. "Helping us win games is all that's important. I'm just singularly focused week in and week out to continue to grow, to improve myself, to better my game and to try to be better than the last game."
Brown's last outing, on Nov. 17 at Tennessee, ended with a game-high nine catches for a game-high 91 receiving yards and his career-high ninth receiving touchdown, a 12-yard strike from quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.
Brown's season totals of 88 receptions and 1,161 receiving yards are approaching the career high figures of 110 catches and 1,499 receiving yards he posted a year ago.
He's seemingly better than ever in this, his fifth NFL season. The reasons for that are apparently as varied as the contributions Brown makes on a weekly basis.
"Experience," he insisted. "And a relationship with a great quarterback, the work we put in during practice, the time we put in with each other, that's what it's all about. Everything plays a factor, for example, a great offensive line. It's not just about me. It's collectively a team effort."
Brown's 88 receptions lead the NFL and his 1,161 receiving yards rank second. His nine receiving touchdowns trail only Julius Thomas of Denver (12), Dez Bryant of Dallas (10), and Randall Cobb of Green Bay (10).
Brown's first catch against the Titans was his 80th of the season, which made him the second player in Steelers' history to have consecutive seasons with at least 80 receptions. (Hines Ward did it from 2001-04 and again in 2008-09).
This season Brown also joined Ward by becoming the second player in team history to record three 1,100-yard receiving seasons (2011, 2013, 2014; Ward did it in 2002, 2003 and 2009).
Brown (2013-14), Ward (2002-03) and Mike Wallace (2010-11) are the only Steelers to reach 1,100 yards receiving in consecutive seasons.
And Brown stretched his run of catching at least five passes and amassing at least 50 receiving yards to 27 consecutive games in the Titans game.
More significant to Brown is the impact his success is having on the rest of the passing game, from rookie wide receiver Martavis Bryant's six receiving touchdowns, to second-year running back Le'Veon Bell's 57 catches, to tight end Heath Miller's 501 receiving yards.
"Absolutely," Brown said. "Guys are winning their one-on-one matchups. Usually (the defense is) rolling to my side with the two-man coverage. Other guys are starting to step up and win matchups, and that's what we're going to need if we're going to be a great team.
"We just have to continue to hit our stride and continue to get better."
