Pittsburgh Steelers played on without him during a loss to New England three weeks ago http://www.arizonacardinalsteamonline.com/byron-murphy-jersey , Antonio Brown always believed he’d be back.

He just needed time.

When his teammates provided it by assuring the AFC North champions of a first-round bye, Brown pushed his rehab.

By last weekend video surfaced of Brown working out in Florida with former NFL wide receiver Chad Ochocinco.

And there Brown was on Monday, going through drills with the rest of the Steelers well on track for a return on Sunday against Jacksonville in the divisional round of the playoffs.

”I never count myself out regardless of circumstances,” Brown said. ”I know playing football you’re going to have adversity. Just got to grow from it.”

While stressing he’s ”still got a lot to test,” the only unanimous selection on the 2017 All-Pro Team and the only player in NFL history with five straight seasons with at least 100 receptions appeared to be relatively close to his old self.

”AB is nice,” cornerback Joe Haden said. ”If he’s out there, I expect him to be AB. He’s not going to be out there limping around. When he was running, he looked pretty good. You never know how it’s going to feel afterward, but while he’s out there, while he’s running his routes, he looked like AB.”

Brown left in the first half against New England on Dec. 17 when his legs got tangled with a pair of Patriots defenders while trying to haul in a touchdown pass.

The Steelers lost 27-23 before rebounding to close out the regular season with wins over Houston and Cleveland.

Still, their best chance at reaching the AFC championship game for a second consecutive season comes with Brown’s No. 84 in the lineup.

The Jaguars have one of the NFL’s top defensive backfields, though Brown still finished with 10 receptions and 157 yards on Oct. 8, the lone bright spot for the Steelers in a 30-9 loss in which Jacksonville scored the final 23 points and left Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger shaken after throwing five interceptions.

Roethlisberger hasn’t shied away from talk of a rematch. That’s fine by the Jaguars.

”Be careful what you wish for,” Jacksonville cornerback AJ Bouye said. ”This is what he wanted. This is what he’s going to get.”

What the Steelers are likely to get in return is a heavy dose of Jaguars rookie running back Leonard Fournette.

He was dominant with 181 yards and two touchdowns against Pittsburgh in October, including a backbreaking 90-yard sprint with 1:47 left that showcased the speed and the power that makes him so dangerous. Jacksonville finished with 231 yards rushing in all, the most given up by the Steelers all season.

It was perhaps the biggest upset in the NFL season at the time. In the rearview, not so much. The Jaguars have proven they’re legit while reaching the playoffs for the first time in a decade.

Though Jacksonville cornerback Jalen Ramsey suggested Pittsburgh must feel like the loss was a ”fluke,” the Steelers insist that’s not the case.

”We don’t feel like it was a fluke Andy Isabella Jersey ,” linebacker Bud Dupree said. ”We actually saw the plays they made and everything that was going on and the mistakes that we made and … that’s what happens. We let them get a couple of explosion plays.”

Yet Steelers safety Mike Mitchell is quick to point out the blowout on the scoreboard didn’t exactly reflect what happened on the field. Even with Fournette’s closeout dash to the end zone, Pittsburgh outgained the Jaguars 373-313.

”If you watch that football game, it’s not like their offense exploited us a ton,” Mitchell said. ”I don’t think it was a dominant performance from that standpoint. I thought we played well enough to win the game. Obviously we didn’t. We’ve got to do better Sunday as a complete team to win the game.”

One of the reasons Roethlisberger wanted another shot at Jacksonville. The two-time Super Bowl winner facetiously wondered if he still ”had it” after turning the ball over repeatedly back in October.

All he did over the second half of the season was throw 18 touchdowns against five interceptions while leading Pittsburgh to a second straight division title and fourth consecutive playoff appearance.

Roethlisberger’s swagger is back. And with Brown nearing a return, the Steelers believe they’re three wins away from a seventh Lombardi Trophy regardless of who may stand in the way.

”(Got to) find a way to win this one,” Brown said, ”and then the next one and the next one.”

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AP Sports Writer Mark Long in Jacksonville, Fla., contributed to this report.

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Bills running back LeSean McCoy missed practice because of a right ankle injury and it’s uncertain whether he can play Sunday at Jacksonville in Buffalo’s first playoff game in 18 years. McCoy was carted off the field after getting hurt on the opening drive of the second half during Buffalo’s 22-16 win at Miami on Sunday.

BASKETBALL

VILNIUS, Lithuania (AP) – The brothers of Los Angeles Lakers point guard Lonzo Ball landed in rainy Lithuania to start their career with a local basketball club.

The 19-year-old LiAngelo and his younger brother LaMelo, who is 16, signed professional one-year contracts with BC Prienai last month. The brothers arrived with their father LaVar Ball, the creator of Big Baller Brand.

LiAngelo and LaMelo are expected to make their debut on Jan. 9, when BC Prienai hosts Tsmoki-Minsk in a Baltic league game.

FIGURE SKATING

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) – Rising star Bradie Tennell continued her breakout season by winning the women’s short program at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships.

Tennell saved the best short program of her career for the most important event and scored 73.79 points.

Mirai Nagasu, the 2008 U.S. champion and a 2010 Olympian who was passed over for the team four years ago, stood second, .7 behind Tennell. Defending champion Karen Chen, who has had a poor campaign Alexander Mattison Jersey , reversed that as the final skater and was third.

HOCKEY

LAS VEGAS (AP) – The Vegas Golden Knights signed leading scorer Jonathan Marchessault to a $30 million, six-year contract extension, the clearest sign yet that the first-year, first-place organization is going for it.

Since being taken from the Florida Panthers in the expansion draft, Marchessault has been a big reason for the Golden Knights’ surprising inaugural season. The 27-year-old forward has 15 goals and 22 assists in 37 games for Vegas, which leads the Western Conference at 27-9-2.

NEW YORK (AP) – Lightning star Steven Stamkos will serve as captain of the Atlantic Division team in the NHL All-Star 3-on-3 tournament this month in Tampa, Florida.

Washington Capitals winger Alex Ovechkin earned his 12th career All-Star nod as the fan-voted captain of the Metropolitan Division. Nashville defenseman P.K. Subban was voted captain for the Central Division, and Edmonton center Connor McDavid captain of the Pacific Division.

WOMEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL

GRAMBLING, La. (AP) – Shakyla Hill’s assist in the closing seconds of Grambling State’s win over Alabama State gave the junior guard the fourth quadruple-double in NCAA women’s basketball history.

Hill had 10 assists to go with 15 points, 10 rebounds and 10 steals. The last quadruple-double was by Soja Tate of Arkansas State against Mississippi Valley State on Jan. 27, 1993.

SKIING

ZAGREB, Croatia (AP) – Mikaela Shiffrin took a women’s World Cup slalom for her seventh win in 14 starts this season.

The Olympic champion from the United States built on a commanding first-run lead to beat Wendy Holdener of Switzerland by 1.59 seconds.

Frida Hansdotter of Sweden was 2.11 behind in third, while Slovakia’s Petra Vlhova, the only skier to beat Shiffrin in a slalom event this season, finished 2.24 off the lead in fourth.

After skipping two speed races in Val d’Isere last month, Shiffrin leads the overall standings with 1,081 points after 16 of this season’s 38 races. Viktoria Rebensburg of Germany trails by 571 points in second.

Shiffrin is the defending slalom and overall World Cup champion.

TENNIS

Kei Nishikori pulled out of the Australian Open because his right wrist is not fully recovered enough from a torn tendon to withstand the rigor of best-of-five-set matches at a Grand Slam tournament.

Nishikori’s agent, Olivier van Lindonk, announced the 2014 U.S. Open runner-up’s withdrawal in an email.

The Australian Open http://www.vikingscheapshops.com/cheap-authentic-dru-samia-jersey , the first Grand Slam tournament of the new season, begins Jan. 15.

BRISBANE, Australia (AP) – Former champion Milos Raonic lost in straight sets to 18-year-old Alex De Minaur in a second-round upset at the Brisbane International.

Raonic, who won the Brisbane title in 2016 and reached the Wimbledon final that year, struggled to find rhythm with his usually booming serve in a 6-4, 6-4 loss to the Australian wild-card entry. The victory put De Minaur into a quarterfinal match against American qualifier Michael Mmoh, who upset No. 8-seeded Mischa Zverev 6-2, 5-7, 6-4.

SOCCER

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) – Orlando City signed forward Dom Dwyer to a three-year contract.

Dwyer, who played on the U.S. national team last year, was traded to Orlando from Kansas City last July. The deal included an MLS-record $1.6 million in allocation money.

Dwyer had nine goals and five assists in league play overall last season, including four goals and four assists after coming to Orlando.

Orlando also acquired midfielder Sacha Kljestan and $150,000 in allocation money in a trade with the New York Red Bulls for forward Carlos Rivas and center back Tommy Redding.

CARSON, Calif. (AP) – Defender Ashley Cole agreed to return for another season with the LA Galaxy. The MLS club announced a one-year contract with the 37-year-old English star. Cole had one goal and two assists in 29 games as the Galaxy’s left back last year. The former Arsenal and Chelsea stalwart has been with the Galaxy for the past two seasons, making 55 appearances as one of MLS’ most effective left backs.

SPEEDSKATING

MILWAUKEE (AP) – Heather Bergsma won the 1,000 meters at the U.S. speedskating trials, with Brittany Bowe finishing second to join her longtime rival on the Olym