The Steelers lose more than a game against the Patriots
The Pittsburgh Steelers lost more than just a game to the New England Patriots on Sunday. While many are discussing one of the most controversial calls of the season, a few other stories from the game flew under the radar.
With the postseason a little over two weeks away, the Steelers will be without some key contributors, while another looks to finally make his long-awaited return.
Antonio Brown
The obvious loss from Sunday’s game was Antonio Brown. The Steelers receiver went to make another of his phenomenal catches in the end zone but was sandwiched between other players. He immediately rolled onto his back, holding his leg following the attempted catch. I thought he may have broken or fractured his lower leg, but when I watched the replay, he appeared to be kicked in that calf/tibia area by a defender.
There was a sudden silence as those in attendance watched AB limp off of the field. He was taken into the locker room for x-rays immediately, and without definitive results, it was announced he was heading to the hospital shortly after. I assumed the trainers and medical staff wanted to make sure Brown didn’t develop compartmental syndrome, meaning a clot or vascular mass which could form around that area that took the hit. If that were to happen, he would be in real trouble.
It was eventually released to the media that Brown suffered a “partially torn calf muscle”. A calf muscle tear is graded from 1 to 3, with Grade 3 being the most severe. A Grade 1 tear will not normally need professional treatment whereas Grade 2 or Grade 3 injuries, depending on their severity, may require more specialist treatment and rehabilitation advice from a sports injury physician.
To put the injury into perspective, a Grade 1 calf strain is a minor tear with up to 25% of the muscle fibers affected. The athlete may feel either a twinge of pain in the back of the lower leg or a feeling of “tightness”. They may be able to carry on playing or competing without pain or with only mild discomfort in the calf. However, after working out or playing, there is likely to be “tightness” and/or aching in the calf muscles which can take up to 24 hours to develop. This will feel like a nagging injury, and more of an annoyance than anything. A week or two of rest will make a huge impact to resume regular activities.
Symptoms of a Grade 2 strain will be more severe than a Grade 1, with up to 90% of the muscle fibers torn. There will be a sharp pain in the back of the lower leg and usually significant pain on walking afterward. There is likely to be swelling in the calf muscle with mild to moderate bruising, however, this may take hours or days to be visible. On strength testing the muscle, pain will be felt on resisted plantar flexion (pushing the toes and foot downwards towards the floor) against resistance. Tightness and aching may be present in the calf muscle for a week or more before subsiding.
Grade 3 injuries involve 90-100% of the muscle fibers and are often referred to as “ruptures”. The athlete will definitely be able to recall exactly when the injury occurred and this will be associated with severe immediate pain at the back of the lower leg. In these situations, the athlete will be unable to continue/finish exercising and will often be unable to walk due to weakness and pain.
This level of injury also presents with considerable bruising and swelling although this may take hours to be visible. On strength testing, the athlete will be unable to even contract the calf muscle at all and in the case of a full rupture, a gap in the muscle can usually be felt. This is due to a deformity where the muscle is torn and the top part of the muscle may bunch up towards the top of the calf which is clearly visible.
I would guess AB falls between Grade 1 and Grade 2, as a non-surgical type of injury. Brown will most likely be on rest and compression with the elevation of his left leg for at least a week, then calf massages to work out any scar tissue that could develop.
This is probably the best case scenario for the Steelers and for Brown. It is not likely he will return to the regular season for the last two games, but he could potentially play in the first game of the playoffs. (Let’s hope for a first-round bye so he can get as much rest as possible.)
James Conner
Next, Steelers backup running back James Conner went down with an apparent knee injury later in the game. It was later reported he suffered a torn MCL that would require surgery, ending his season. The Steelers placed Conner on IR Tuesday and signed journeyman back Stevan Ridley to take his place on the roster.
Joe Haden
Finally, the moment we’ve all been waiting for: the return of Joe Haden. I believed Haden could’ve played against the Patriots, but only five weeks out from his fractured femur, it was wise of the Steelers to hold him out for an extra week. That should help Joe have less pain to tolerate through practice and playing on Christmas Day against the Texans.
Watching his practice video today, he looks even better than last week. This could be a very good week of practice for him.
I think the light will not only be left on for Joe this week, but he will have the key to the door to start the game, six weeks after his injury.
