Barring an unexpected change in strategy, it seems likely that when the Patriots defense and the Steelers offense are on the field during this Sunday's AFC title game, Pats corner Malcolm Butler and Steelers wideout Antonio Brown will be lined up across from each other fairly often. The two teams have played each other during each of the last two regular seasons and Butler has spent most of those two games shadowing Brown all over the field.
"I have a lot of respect for him," Brown said of Butler this week, per ESPN.com. "He is a follow-type corner, finishes to the ball, puts hands on you like no other. ... He is going to be there. I am excited about having that opportunity."
"I definitely have respect for the guy, a great player obviously," Butler said of Brown. "I love to compete, and he loves to compete also."
The two have definitely competed these last two years, with Brown getting the better of Butler despite incredibly tight coverage in Week 1 of the 2015 season, and Butler bouncing back with a better game in Week 7 of this season (albeit with Landry Jones at quarterback instead of Ben Roethlisberger, and with Brown still catching five passes for 94 yards).
| YEAR | WEEK | QB | COMP | ATT | YDS | TD | INT | PD |
| 2015 | 1 | Roethlisberger | 9 | 10 | 133 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2016 | 7 | Jones | 5 | 9 | 94 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Brown usually smokes shadow coverage from whoever winds up on him, while Butler usually shuts his man down -- for the most part. They've had two good battles already, and the third should be no different.
