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The entire Steelers offense is getting used to life without Antonio Brown on the field. That much was apparent in Pittsburgh's 30-point loss to the Patriots.
Perhaps no player's role will be affected more than a wide receiver Donte Moncrief, who was not even on the team last year. The free-agent acquisition saw a team-high 10 targets in Week 1. It's up to three catches for 7 yards.
"It's sickening when you watch it and you know it's not going to make them," said Moncrief, via the team's website. "And you see them and you're like, 'Gosh, I know I gotta make that.' The other day, after we watched that movie, there was a feeling in my stomach, it hurt I went home, went straight to sleep, it hurt me.
The Steelers would hope. With defenses expected to be key on JuJu Smith-Schuster all season, another will have to emerge. Moncrief repeatedly drew Ben Roethlisberger's attention, only he struggled to haul in many passes that hit him in the hands.
The sixth-year veteran has been playing through a dislocated middle finger that he suffered in training camp. Moncrief was pointed at for his problems.
"You can not just put it on that," he said. "I gotta make plays, you're gotta go with it, it's still going to be gotta play." (Roethlisberger) in me. He knows what I can do. I know what I can do. At the end of the day that was my worst game ever in my career, and it hurt. "
For what it's worth, Big Ben says the rough debut will not deter him from targeting his new receiver.
"I'm not going to shy away from him," Roethlisberger said. "I'm excited for this week, I think we'll see some big things."
That's what the Steelers were looking for after signing Brown to the Raiders. Moncrief caught 48 passes for the Jaguars in 2018 after spending his first four years with the Colts.
His best season came back in 2015 – he had 64 receptions, 733 yards, 6 TDs – with a healthy Andrew Luck. Moncrief could easily eclipse those numbers in the Steelers' pass-happy offense. (No team threw more in 2018.) He'll just have to play better than he did this past Sunday.
"That was my first one, that was a bad one," Moncrief said. "It hurts, but it's the end of the day it's the NFL, you can not get over it.
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