Martavis Bryant Resumes Road to Stardom in 1st Game Back from Suspension

For more than two quarters against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, the Pittsburgh Steelers' passing game was nonexistent.

Veteran Michael Vick started the game and completed just three of eight passes for six yards before leaving during the third quarter. Vick was replaced by Landry Jones. Jones came in to complete eight of 12 passes for 168 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions to lead Pittsburgh to a 25-13 victory.

The box score suggests that Jones fixed the Steelers' passing game, and to an extent he did. But that wasn't the story of this game. No, the story of this game circles around wide receiver Martavis Bryant, a second-year player making his season debut after suspension and injury.

The NFL suspended Bryant for the first four games of this season before he was held out of Week 5 because of an injury that ultimately proved to be minor. The Steelers were able to beat the San Diego Chargers on Monday night without Bryant, but they wouldn't have beaten the Cardinals without him.

Of Jones' 168 yards, Bryant caught 137. He also caught both of his touchdowns. With Vick in the first half, Bryant caught two passes for eight yards. Vick lost two yards on his only other completion.

As a rookie, Bryant proved he could be productive with a talented quarterback. Ben Roethlisberger found Bryant 26 times for 549 yards and eight touchdowns last year. Those numbers are made more impressive by the fact the rookie only played in 10 games.

He also showed he could be productive on a bigger stage during the playoffs. In the Steelers' loss to the Baltimore Ravens, Bryant caught five receptions for 61 yards and a touchdown while also adding one rushing attempt for six yards.

What Bryant hadn't done during his rookie season was show off his ability to create production with poor quarterback play.

The signs had always been there. His ability to create so much separation behind defensive backs and his ability to win at the catch point suggested he wasn't reliant on Roethlisberger. The opportunity to play outside of Roethlisberger's shadow had simply never presented itself.

Playing with Jones and Vick offered him those opportunities—with Jones in particular.

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On Jones' first series in the game, the quarterback attempted to find Bryant on a fade route in the end zone with his first throw. That incompletion set up 3rd-and-goal, when Bryant moved into the slot to the wide side of the field.

With Patrick Peterson pressing Antonio Brown on the narrow side of the field, Bryant had a free release against off coverage to the other side.

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Bryant is a fluid athlete who comfortably gets in and out of his breaks. On this play, he runs a fast out route into the back of the end zone. He is too quick for the Cardinals safety attempting to mirror his movement, so when Bryant turns toward the sideline, he is turning freely into space.

Jones delivers the ball on time, so the defensive back has no chance of making a play on the ball.

However, even though Jones delivered the ball on time, he didn't deliver it accurately. Bryant is officially listed at 6'4" and 211 pounds. Jones still managed to severely overthrow him. At 6'4", Bryant wasn't tall enough to reach the ball. To reach the ball, he had to leave his feet and spring into the air.

The receiver's leaping ability was astonishing for a player of his size, while his ball skills to locate and reach for the football were just as impressive. Bryant's athleticism was so impressive and his technical ability was so clean that he made the play look much easier than it actually was.

This wasn't the end of the play, though.

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Most 6'4" wide receivers—and human beings generally—don't have nimble feet or a flexible lower body. Bryant's feet are as quick and controlled as any receiver. This allows him to play on his toes. It is valuable for making receptions while working the sideline but also for accelerating his return to the ground.

On this play, Bryant doesn't wait to fall back to the ground. He urgently stretches his left leg to it.

Bryant's outstretched toes plant into the ground, allowing him to bend his leg and drop his backside tighter to his body. This movement is important because Tyrann Mathieu is arriving to try to knock Bryant out of bounds.

Because of how quickly Bryant was able to get back to the ground and because of how compact he was in the air, Mathieu couldn't force him out. Bryant lands just inside of the end zone for the touchdown reception—a touchdown reception he should never have been able to make.

Jones' throw was bad. It should have erased Bryant's good work through his route. The receiver was simply too good at the catch point to allow that to happen. 

After making that touchdown reception, Jones went back to Bryant late in the third quarter for another big play. On this occasion Bryant caught a perfect pass from Jones for a 23-yard gain over the middle of the field.

A 10-yard reception for a first down followed that play. On that occasion Bryant ran a slant route and had to adjust to a poorly placed pass from his quarterback. It was another poorly thrown slant route that gave Bryant the opportunity to secure an unlikely victory for the Steelers.

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It was 2nd-and-8 with just over two minutes left in the game. The Steelers were leading by five, so they were looking for a first down to drain more clock. Bryant runs a slant route against Tyrann Mathieu, who is bailing from the start because he is concerned about Bryant's threat downfield.

Bryant is wide-open because of his speed through his route and Mathieu's coverage.

Even though he is wide-open, Jones' pass forces Bryant to adjust. The receiver has to slow down in his route to work back to the ball and then lean down to pull it up as it arrives low. Fortunately, he has created so much separation against Mathieu that the defensive back can't take advantage.

This alone was hugely valuable for the Steelers, but what Bryant does next is what makes him such an exciting prospect moving forward.

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For his first touchdown, Bryant showed off his size, athleticism and ball skills. For his second, he showed off his explosiveness and vision with the ball in his hands. Receivers are generally supposed to be strong in either the big or small game. Bryant is great in both.

After adjusting to the poor throw from Jones, Bryant is able to accelerate away from Mathieu.

Even though he had got away from Mathieu, the receiver recognizes the defense is flowing with him, so he attempts to cut back across the field. A strong handoff allows him glide past Mathieu before accelerating into space toward the right sideline.

Bryant has easy speed. When he finds space and can run vertically, it's extremely difficult to catch him. He combines long strides with an explosive lower body and a light upper body to pull away from pursuing defenders.

This play turns into an 88-yard gain because of Bryant's ball skills, vision and explosiveness. His ability to create this kind of play is a rare one.

Landry Jones deserves credit. He was prepared to run the offense when he came in as a backup and gave his receivers opportunities to make plays. However, those opportunities weren't presented on a silver platter.

Jones was better than Vick, but it's still hard to argue he was good when compared to your typical NFL starting quarterbacks.

For that reason and because Ben Roethlisberger will inevitably retain his starting spot, the more meaningful display from this game for the Steelers was from Martavis Bryant. The receiver showed as a rookie that he was on the road to stardom.

While his suspension highlights potential concerns off the field, Bryant's return showed he is still going in the right direction on the field.