Steelers' Darrius Heyward-Bey: Held catchless in championship game loss

Heyward-Bey (illness) failed to catch either of his two targets in Sunday's 36-17 AFC championship game loss to the Patriots.

Analysis:

The veteran speedster was targeted deep on the two passes he saw -- including one in the end zone -- but Ben Roethlisberger misfired on both occasions. In relatively desperate need of offense after Le'Veon Bell exited early with a groin injury and with Tom Brady and his receivers hitting on all cylinders, the Steelers still curiously opted to primarily rely on the young and inexperienced trio of Eli Rogers, Cobi Hamilton and Sammie Coates alongside Antonio Brown as the principal wideout options. Heyward-Bey appeared to only receive a handful of snaps despite his play-making ability, a somewhat fitting end to a disappointing 2016 campaign. The former first-round pick tallied the second-lowest reception (six) and yardage (114) totals of his career while appearing in a career-low 10 games. Although he has two seasons remaining on his current contract at a modest yearly cap hit of approximately $1.3 million, Heyward-Bey's status for next season likely hinges on the continued development of Rogers, Hamilton, Coates and DeMarcus Ayers, as well as the potential return of Martavis Bryant (suspension).