After just two NFL games, running back Kaleb Johnson’s probably already made the worst mental error of what will hopefully be a long career. Letting a kickoff skip past him Sunday, a gaffe that gifted the Seattle Seahawks a touchdown in the second half of a 31-17 loss, Johnson has to feel lower than low. For former head coach Bill Cowher, every mistake is a chance to learn and grow, and he said Johnson can take something valuable out of an otherwise terrible moment.
“So I don’t think anyone felt worse about it than he did,” Cowher told Dan Patrick during a Monday morning interview. “It’s a teaching moment that unfortunately came at a very bad time in the game.”
As Cowher alluded to, all Johnson can do is learn from his mistake and ensure it never happens again. Unfortunately, these flubs have become too common in Pittsburgh. Since 2017, there have been at least three instances of Steelers failing to field the ball, allowing the opponent to recover the kick. Twice on punts following safeties and on yesterday’s kick that landed in the “landing zone” which kept the ball live. Had the ball landed in the end zone, it would’ve automatically been a touchback.
“It reminds me of going back in 2000 and Plaxico Burress’ first year,” Cowher said. “I think it was Week 5, we were playing the Jacksonville Jaguars in Jacksonville. Plaxico goes over the middle of the field, catches a dig route, goes to the ground, gets up and spikes the ball.”
Forgetting he was playing under NFL, not college, rules, Burress spiked the ball before he was touched. The play remained live, and Jacksonville recovered. In 2024, we named it the No. 1 gaffe in Steelers history. Fortunately for Burress, Pittsburgh held a 24-6 lead and still went on to win the game.
Johnson can’t take solace in that. His mistake had a clear hand in the Steelers’ loss. A 17-14 deficit turned into trailing by two scores in the fourth quarter, and Pittsburgh couldn’t rally the way it did against the New York Jets a week earlier.
As we’ve written about, plenty of players went on to have great careers after making mental errors. Barry Foster, James Brooks, and Burress himself are remembered for plays beyond their worst moments. Johnson will aim to do the same though given his lack of playing time the first two weeks, four total offensive snaps, he may have to wait for redemption.
