“What he have here is a failure to communicate.”
That quote from Cool Hand Luke doesn’t just apply to the big screen. It applies to the big field the Pittsburgh Steelers played on in Sunday’s loss to the Cleveland Browns. Pittsburgh’s offense failed in part due to a lack of communication. Specifically, QB Kenny Pickett and WR Diontae Johnson weren’t on the same page all game long, leaving both players frustrated as the Steelers had one of their lowest passing outputs of the last 20 years.
Speaking to reporters Wednesday, Pickett said he’s since had a conversation with Johnson and believes both are on track.
“We talked. We talked about it,” Pickett said via Steelers.com earlier today. “We worked it out. It’ll get fixed. Diontae came in with a great attitude. He’s a great player who wants to win. So that’s all you need. His talent will take care of the rest. We’ll get on the same page and move on.”
In his meeting with the media Monday, Johnson seemed frustrated with his lack of production, saying “film don’t lie” when asked if he was getting open and simply not getting the football.
At least twice, the two were on two separate wavelengths. The first was a failed third down conversion early in the game, Pickett throwing outside as Johnson broke his route inside. The second came in the final minutes. With a chance to take the lead, Pickett threw deep down the right sideline. But Johnson broke his route off underneath, leading the throw to land 20 yards away from the nearest player, prompting a viral “I’m confused” response from Ben Roethlisberger.
Playing in front of a true road crowd for the first time all year likely had an impact. Two of the Steelers’ previous three road games felt like anything but, playing in front of heavily-populated Steelers crowds in Las Vegas and Los Angeles. Cleveland was a different story and it was obvious the crowd noise negatively impacted Pittsburgh’s offense. They’ll have a similar task this upcoming Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals.
By game’s end, the Steelers only posted ten points, Pickett threw for just 106 yards, and the team lost to a rookie QB in Dorian Thompson-Robinson, who only fared slightly better. But he and the Browns made the late plays the Steelers failed to, doing enough to win the game.
If Pittsburgh’s going to get back on track, Johnson will have to become a big part of the passing attack. In a year tripped up by injuries and the Steelers’ offense, he has just 335 yards on the year and is likely to go back-to-back seasons without 1,000 yards, something he’s only done once in his career. But the only number that matters is seven. That’s how many games are left in the regular season for Pittsburgh to make a push and for Johnson, Pickett, and this offense to work as a team.
