You’re not going to lose too many games in the NFL when your defense only allows 13 points. The Pittsburgh Steelers managed to do that last week against the Cleveland Browns, however. It was a major hiccup in a precarious season that proved to be the last straw for offensive coordinator Matt Canada.
And other than Canada’s firing, the biggest story to come out of the week—nearly a week later—was a post-game altercation between WR Diontae Johnson and S Minkah Fitzpatrick. Johnson was reportedly rather upset and taking his frustration out on others, with Fitzpatrick taking umbrage, as other veterans stepped in.
“It’s kind of ridiculous that it even became a topic”, captain Cameron Heyward said on his latest Not Just Football podcast episode, regarding the story that broke by ESPN on Saturday evening. “You would think everybody in the locker room would have some sense about that because that’s what stays in the locker room. I’m pretty sure everybody’s been in an altercation before in the locker room where tempers are high after a game you think you should’ve won”.
After winning two in a row and four out of their last five games, the Steelers dropped one to a Cleveland Browns team that had just lost QB Deshaun Watson for the season. The offense only managed to put up 10 points before the defense finally broke on the final possession, allowing rookie QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson to author a game-winning drive and break the 10-10 tie.
Johnson was targeted eight times on the day, including on three straight incompletions on the three-and-out possession before Cleveland’s final drive, picking up 16 yards. There were multiple instances in which he and QB Kenny Pickett were not on the same page at all. The week before, he had just one 17-yard catch on four targets. But things were reaching a boiling point generally with the Steelers’ flailing offense. We heard it in locker room interviews. And that was what they put out in public.
“What’s in the locker room should stay in the locker room. It’s not for everybody”, Heyward said. “If you’re in a business job and you have a conversation with HR, does it get reported to everybody, or does it stay in-house?”.
As he noted, he has been in his fair share of similar altercations in the locker room as tempers flare amid frustrations stemming from failure to capitalize on opportunities, calling them very common. “But communication, addressing things head-on, and being accountable going forward is the key to all of that”, he said. “It’s water down your back. It just rolls off and you keep it moving”.
I’m sure it’s not the only “altercation” that has taken place this season in Pittsburgh. No doubt there have been many around the league. Still, the timing, which happened to coincide with a long-anticipated dismissal of a maligned coach, is hard to ignore.
What’s easy to understand is the frustration. Things were simply not going well at all, either structurally or on the field. When you’re not being put in a position to make plays and then unable to make the plays that are there, and you lose, well…it gets reported nearly a week later and we find ourselves talking about it.
