The Pittsburgh Steelers might have beaten the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday if they didn’t shoot themselves in the foot multiple times. Easily, the biggest self-inflicted wound came when Kaleb Johnson made a massive mistake on a kickoff, allowing the ball to roll into the end zone untouched. The Seahawks recovered it for a touchdown, which gave them a 24-14 lead at the time. That play changed the momentum of the game, and Pittsburgh never recovered.
Speaking at his press conference after the game, Mike Tomlin was asked about Johnson’s mistake. His answer was short and sweet.
“Poor judgment by a young player,” Tomlin said.
He was then asked if the dynamic kickoff is something the Steelers work on in practice, to which he responded, “Every day of our lives.”
The coaches benched Johnson on the ensuing kickoff, with Jaylen Warren taking his place. However, he already inflicted enough damage. Pittsburgh marched downfield and kicked a field goal afterwards, but that only cut the lead to a touchdown. The Steelers’ leaky defense couldn’t stop anything, and Seattle moved down the field to score another touchdown. This essentially ended the game.
Sometimes rookies make mistakes, but this is a brutal one for Kaleb Johnson. After the Steelers drafted him, many fans fell in love with the Iowa product. It makes sense, as the workhorse was coming off a terrific year. He represented a fresh face as well as the potential future of the backfield. Still, it’s been a quiet start to the season for him. Johnson had just one rush for a loss of two yards in the season-opener. His only contribution on Sunday came on his missed kick return.
The kickoff format has changed a bit over the last two years. That could add to the confusion. So could the fact that the kickoff is now completely different at the college level, where Johnson played last year. Regardless, that type of mistake is inexcusable. Tomlin’s mention of working on it daily seems to signal that he doesn’t believe it’s a coaching issue.
Kaleb Johnson still has time to bounce back. But his quiet start to his rookie season just got a whole lot worse.
