Overreactions from Steelers Nation: What to do about Diontae Johnson?
Welcome to my weekly edition of “Overreactions from Steelers Nation” a weekly column where I poke fun at fans, reporters, and so-called experts while trying to figure out if some of these hot takes are real – or just for attention.
It’s another week Steelers Nation and despite Pittsburgh’s first 400+ yard offensive game in 59 tries, our fellow yinzers still found something to complain about!
Was it that the Steelers output relied upon beating a backup quarterback and distraught defense? Did fans disappointed with Mike Sullivan and Eddie Faulkner splitting duties as the offensive coordinator? Were they up in arms about Mike Tomlin not challenging a would-be touchdown in the first quarter?
No. Well, sort of, but the actual highlight of the week that people won’t shut up about? Diontae Johnson.
We’ve heard it all before. Johnson can’t catch – actually, that’s not true and just a byproduct of not connecting on big plays that stick in your memory. (Johnson has fewer drops than Bills WR Stephon Diggs or Cowboys WR Ceedee Lamb this season.)
Johnson runs backwards.
Okay, sometimes he does. It’s called a curl or comeback route, where, imagine this – he stops, and comes back to the ball. (And as one of the more elusive receivers at breaking tackles, yes, he does try to evade defenders by going backwards sometimes.)
But the biggest knock this week comes from Johnson’s supposed attitude. We heard a week ago that he had an outburst, which some attribute to the final straw of the team finally firing former OC Matt Canada.
In this game, however, it was a series of two plays that got folks up in arms.
The first was the would-be touchdown on the Steelers second offensive possession of the game. On 2nd-and-2, Kenny Pickett rifled a 15-yard pass to Johnson, who caught the ball, took several steps, but then finished out-of-bounds with the ball hitting the ground.
Diontae Johnson almost had a touchdown but he couldn’t complete the catch pic.twitter.com/kuJ8g2jArq
— Matthew (@HildenbrandMa) November 26, 2023
That play was ruled an incomplete pass as Pittsburgh lined up for 3rd-and-2, handing off to RB Jaylen Warren, who then fumbled in another close play. Cincinnati recovered the ball and took off, while Johnson stood and watched, almost numb to what was going on during the entire sequence.
https://twitter.com/TheAthleticNFL/status/1729932024499097734
The incident looks terrible on film, but some excuses could be made for Johnson, who didn’t have any further lack of enthusiasm during the remainder of the game.
First of all, he claims to have not saw the play. That seems unlikely – and does come off as an excuse, but we now know in his interview made on Wednesday that he apologized for not playing until a whistle was blown.
Diontae Johnson on the play where he didn’t go for the loose ball from Warren’s fumble: “Nobody is out there trying to mess up. I’m human just like everybody else out there. … That’s not me as a player. That one play doesn’t define me. It never will. …
“From here on out,… pic.twitter.com/KrnUxDQJmC
— Brooke Pryor (@bepryor) November 29, 2023
Fans are still furious, for whatever reason, that Johnson “took off a play” but I can at least emphasize with what’s going on here. If he truly felt the play was dead and/or did “not see it” then why would Johnson engage? Further, and we’ve seen this on run plays throughout the league this year from a variety of receivers, why would he get physical with a defender at the line of scrimmage?
Is the preference here to get penalized? I think not. (And there’s plenty of past evidence with slow developing Canada-inspired plays to suggest why Johnson or others shouldn’t engage here.)
Yes, I’m using some mental gymnastics to come to conclusions by placing myself in the player’s shoes. However, upset fans need to realize their anger should be directed in other areas: foremost, this play should’ve never happened.
Consider that Johnson had three steps in the endzone before the ball was ever lost on the previous play, and the Steelers are up an extra six points plus. If that’s called on the field, as it should’ve been, as a touchdown, then this third down sequence never happens.
Secondly, where is the venom for Warren fumbling? I know he’s become the darling in Pittsburgh recently, following two consecutive 200-yard rushing games. Yet, one of the reasons Warren was an undrafted player in 2022 was due to his ball security problems. That surfaced once again in a situation where the Steelers only needed two yards to get a first down in the redzone.
Again, if the second down play stands as a touchdown, then the third down play doesn’t happen. Also, if Warren doesn’t fumble, then does anyone draw attention to Johnson’s actions?
The world works in mysterious ways, but sorry fans, I don’t expect there to be a fine or any noticeable punishment for one of the team’s premier players. Johnson won’t be benched for any extended period of time. (We saw what it was like while he was on IR.) He won’t be traded either. (The trade deadline has passed.) And despite the uncharacteristic firing of Matt Canada, the team won’t go out of their way for an unprecedented move to release the receiver either.
In fact, he’s still under contract through the 2024 season, though further incidents such as this could have GM Omar Khan rethink the $10 million in cap space that could be saved if they moved on from Diontae in the offseason.
In summation, was this a bad look on film? Yes. Does it mean Johnson is a crybaby or prima donna? No. Does it mean he quit on his team? Only he can answer that.
What we should focus on is the positives, such as this big play later in the game – proving it was a one-time incident, at least for now.
Similar spot here: all out blitz, quick decision to be made. Fires it a little low, but Diontae Johnson delivers with a good hands catch.
No spinning, no panic, just solid understanding of what's in front of him. Progress: pic.twitter.com/AXp0OPPlmP
— Christopher Carter (@CarterCritiques) November 27, 2023
