With The First Pick
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Martavis Bryant Back With Pittsburgh Steelers for 2017

By Carl Cockerham

Jan 17, 2016; Denver, CO, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Martavis Bryant (10) (10) against the Denver Broncos during the AFC Divisional round playoff game at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 17, 2016; Denver, CO, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Martavis Bryant (10) (10) against the Denver Broncos during the AFC Divisional round playoff game at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports /
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Martavis Bryant has been conditionally reinstated back into the NFL. If he keeps his nose clean, the Pittsburgh Steelers could go to the Super Bowl.

In last season’s AFC Championship Game, the Pittsburgh Steelers fell victim to the New England Patriots. The Patriots win by taking away the other team’s best weapon. They force them to try to win with a player or players they’re not as comfortable going to.

They actually had some luck in that department as RB Le’Veon Bell injured his groin in the first quarter. So that put everything on the passing game and WR Antonio Brown. For the rest of the game, the Patriots were able to focus on containing him and it worked.

But that would not have been so easy to do if then-suspended WR Martavis Bryant played. The Patriots would have had to stop rolling coverage toward Brown or get beat deep by Bryant. That’s why they had problems with the Atlanta Falcons in the Super Bowl.

The Falcons have too many other weapons for the Patriots to focus only on Julio Jones. But they didn’t have any kind of defense so they couldn’t hold onto a 25-point lead. With Bryant in the lineup, the Steelers could have been in a similar situation.

The Patriots would have had to choose between focusing on Bryant and Brown or play it straight up. The Steelers had the No. 12-ranked defense compared to No. 25 for the Falcons. So the Steelers would have had a better chance of holding on.

The Steelers can’t go back to January but can see the Patriots in the playoffs again. And if Bryant doesn’t relapse at some point this season, they create a different outcome.

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