Steelers WR Brown agrees he deserved to be benched

The Pittsburgh Steelers benched No. 1 wide receiver Antonio Brown near the end of their Week 9 loss to the New England Patriots for what head coach Mike Tomlin described as a lack of “quality execution from an assignment standpoint.” The benching took place after a play in which Brown appeared to not give full effort, and a Ben Roethlisberger pass was intercepted.

Brown says he agrees with the decision, but also say it was miscommunication -- not a lack of effort -- that caused the interception.

"Coach got me and Ben together [on the sideline] and talked about the execution of the play and what transpired,” said Brown, via Gerry Dluac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “From there, coach thought it was best I don’t go back in the game for the last series, so he came to me and told me we’re going to keep you out this series but just stay with me.” 

“I can’t afford to be in miscommunication with Ben," Brown admitted. "I can’t afford to not have my depth and not be where I need to be. Being on this football team and being the No. 1 guy, I got to take responsibility to give the team my best, and coach thought I wasn’t giving my best. Coach made the right decision.”