DETROIT _ I sat down late Sunday night and started writing about how much the Steelers missed Martavis Bryant against the Detroit Lions. JuJu Smith-Schuster then made the offensive play of the NFL's half-season in their 20-15 win.
Martavis who?
Somewhere, former long-time NFL general manager Charley Casserly was smiling. He took to Twitter earlier Sunday with the following observation:
"A lot is being made about [at]Steelers WR Bryant _ the Rookie WR JuJu Smith-Schuster will be a better all around WR in time [at]nflnetwork."
By Sunday night, maybe?
The Steelers were in some mess when they faced a third-and-9 at their 3 late in the third quarter, leading 13-12. Smith-Schuster beat safety Quandre Diggs off the line of scrimmage to get wide open down the middle of the field. Ben Roethlisberger hit him perfectly in stride with a pass that he pulled in at the Steelers' 28. Smith-Schuster never looked back. He easily outran Diggs and safety Glover Quin to the end zone for a 97-yard touchdown, the longest pass play in Steelers history.
How best to describe the fabulous play?
I'm thinking Bryant-like.
That was some home run.
"I didn't realize he was that fast, huh?" David DeCastro said. "He was on his bike or something. He just shifted gears and took off."
Smith-Schuster made an impact from the very beginning. Roethlisberger pump-faked a bubble screen to Antonio Brown on the game's first play and went to Smith-Schuster down the right sideline for a 41-yard gain that set up the first of Chris Boswell's two field goals. Smith-Schuster finished with seven catches for 193 yards on 10 targets. He would have topped 200 yards if not for a third-down drop early in the fourth quarter that would have given the Steelers a first down.
"What I'm most pleased about is we came in here after the game and reflected real quick," Roethlisberger said. "His locker is right next to mine. He said to me, 'I should have had the one.' He made those big plays, but he's beating himself up over a drop. I loved that. He's not basking in the big things. He's mad about the one little thing he didn't do. To me, that shows awesome maturity. That shows a team-first guy."
I'll give the kid that drop. So will Roethlisberger. Smith-Schuster started to run before he caught the ball. I've seen veterans make that mistake. Smith-Schuster is the NFL's youngest player and won't turn 21 until Nov. 22. It's not as if he didn't make up for the drop. He had a 13-yard catch on third-and-4 from the Steelers' 30 midway through the fourth quarter and caught a 4-yard pass on third-and-1 to give them their final first down.
"I love his approach, his attitude his focus. He's humble," DeCastro said. "It's impressive for a rookie."
It's clear Pittsburgh loves Smith-Schuster the way he is. The city rallied around him when Bryant demeaned him on social media last week, then again when his bicycle was stolen a day or two later. Clearly, he has a winning personality. He showed it after the game when he was asked what it's like to be him these days.
"I love to have fun _ on and off the field," Smith-Schuster said. "You see my social media. I'm always smiling and happy. Life is too short to be sad or be down
"It feels good to be me."
The Steelers needed everything Smith-Schuster gave them against the Lions. That flippant Martavis Who reference? I really didn't mean it. The Steelers missed him a lot.
Brown was fine _ as always _ despite frequent double and even triple coverage. He was shut out for nearly the first-quarter-and-a-half but still finished with five catches for 70 yards on 10 targets. The one time the Lions fell asleep by leaving safety Miles Killebrew on him alone, he turned it into a 40-yard gain that set up a Le'Veon Bell touchdown that gave the Steelers a 10-6 lead in the second quarter.
But after Brown and Smith-Schuster?
Not much.
Eli Rogers dropped what should have been an easy 16-yard touchdown pass on the Steelers' first possession. It was the only time Roethlisberger targeted him until the final series _ no wonder _ when Rogers drew a pass interference penalty on cornerback Darius Slay that essentially clinched the win.
Justin Hunter was targeted three times and had one catch for seven yards.
Darrius Heyward-Bey couldn't quite pull in a pass that would have gone for a 24-yard touchdown pass early in the third quarter.
Not much at all.
That isn't to say Mike Tomlin made the wrong call by benching Bryant for the game after Bryant went crazy on social media last week, asking for a trade and demeaning Smith-Schuster in the process. Tomlin had no choice but to sit Bryant. One game is never more important than doing the right thing for the team.
It's not as if the Steelers haven't had practice being without Bryant. He missed all of last season because of his NFL suspension for marijuana and the first four games of the 2015 season for the same reason. But the team is much better when he is on the field and his mind is right.
I didn't dare tell Tomlin that after the game when we had a tense exchange. Bryant still was a sore subject with him. I'm thinking Tomlin, too, realized he didn't have much on the field at wide receiver after Brown and Smith-Schuster.
