averagejoe
You fell victim to one of the classic blunders.
I'm still in the "take-a-RB-#2" camp. So this may be bias, but since this has been dissected to the Nth degree, just thought I'd throw this out there:
- Worth noting that the Steelers had the 3rd-ranked offense in 2017. Third ranked passing team.
- Ben hasn't played a full season since 2014. Granted, he only missed a handful of games, but 14 years in the league may be taking a toll on Ben. His completion % has been dropping each of the last 3 seasons. The drop-off for some aging QB is quick and unforgiving.
- Surprisingly, Antonio hasn't played a full season since 2015. He's good and he's talented. But that doesn't mean that age and those 1100 career targets aren't catching up with him.
- Side point that for as many yards as Antonio racks up, his TD numbers are low. (He had 9 TD.) WR2 Ju-Ju Smith-Schuster had half as many targets/receptions yet had 7 TD.
- Based on points and yards allowed, the Steelers play the 9th-hardest schedule this year. So it won't be easy for a group of 30-somethings.