Antonio Brown Having Season for the Ages for Pittsburgh Steelers

Fans of the Pittsburgh Steelers have been witnesses to an amazing performance this season. Watching wide receiver Antonio Brown do what he does for the first 14 games of the 2014 season has been a weekly dose of excitement from the speedy wide receiver.

It is important to put what Brown has done, and is doing, into some perspective. Brown's 2014 campaign has placed him some rather elite company. Pittsburgh already has two wide receivers in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Lynn Swann and John Stallworth, and another in Hines Ward is well on his way.

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However, after Sunday's 10-catch, 123-yard performance, Brown has placed himself a cut above the rest. Brown's 115 receptions for the season are a Steelers single-season record, beating out Ward's 112 in 2002. And with two games to go, Brown is going to continue to build on that mark significantly.

Brown should also easily eclipse his own record for receiving yards in a single season of 1,499 yards. He is at 1,498 right now and is averaging 107 yards per game. Big picture, Brown could finish with 131 receptions and 1,712 yards. 

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Antonio Brown leads NFL 115 catches &1,498 receiving yards. No Steelers player has ever led league in EITHER total catches or yards

— Bob Pompeani (@KDPomp) December 14, 2014"

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.@AntonioBrown84 is the first @steelers in team history with 1,400 receiving yards through the first 14 games of a season. #HereWeGo

— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) December 14, 2014"

Those receptions would place him No. 2 all-time for a single season with only Marvin Harrison ahead of him and No. 6 behind Harrison in receiving yards.

No one should be surprised that Brown could find himself in such rarefied air this season. In 2013, his fourth season, Brown finished with 110 receptions for 1,499 yards. In fact, according to ESPN's Scott Brown, what Antonio Brown has done the past two seasons has only been matched by a handful of players.

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Now at this point, I could go into great detail about Brown's record-breaking season. We could talk about his four games with at least 10 receptions or the seven 100-yard receiving games Brown has this season. It is clear that Brown is easily one of the most productive wide receivers in the league over the past two seasons.

But let's talk a little less about the numbers and more about what really makes Brown special. Brown draws the best defensive back every Steelers opponent has in a given week. In many cases, not only does Brown get the top cornerback, but he will find bracket coverage and a safety lingering deep to back him up.

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Another reason Brown can be who he is, is that his game is complete. Brown is as adept at a wide receiver screen as he is with a go route or skinny post. Brown can work the middle of the field on crossing routes and isn't afraid to get dirty fighting for extra yards.

However, what I love most about Brown's game is that he destroys the narrative of the "big wide receiver." His ability to impact the game of such a level while only being 5'10" and 186 pounds just makes what he does all the more impressive. You can throw out all the draft jargon you want, but when you talk about high-pointing a football or catch radius, none of that applies to Brown and his skills on the field.

TribLive radio host John Steigerwald summed up Brown's game quite well here.

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I used to think that the best part of Antonio Brown's game was after the catch.His catching ability even better.As good as Swann/Stallworth

— John Steigerwald (@Steigerworld) December 15, 2014"

Looking ahead, it is easy to see Brown going down in history as the best wide receiver in Steelers franchise history. Unfortunately, with the league being as money-driven as it is, it will take more than a little luck to keep Brown around long enough to do it.

All player data courtesy of Pro-Football-Reference.com.