PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – Seattle had just scored to take a 17-14 lead and were kicking off to the Steelers with 12:51 to play in the game. The reaction from Kaleb Johnson and his teammates as he let the ball bounce over him, didn’t attempt to down it and Seattle recovered for a touchdown and suddenly a double-digit lead and eventually a 31-17 win in Pittsburgh.
Stunned is a good word to describe everyone as the play happened, in the immediate aftermath and even still after the game. Johnson was still in full uniform in the locker room after the game and he addressed questions.
“I made a mistake,” Johnson said. “I just got to move on and do better every day. I just got to get better every day, that’s all I have to say about this.”
“I just got to go in there every day and work my hardest, even more with a chip on my shoulder.”
Asked if he knew the rule that it was a live ball, Johnson said it didn’t matter. He has to do his job.
Head coach Mike Tomlin called it poor judgment by a young player. Asked if it’s something they specifically work on in practice.
“Every day of our lives,” Tomlin said.
“He’s going to be hard on himself,” said Steelers special teams captain Miles Killebrew. “We just have to make sure that everyone knows as a unit we got each other’s backs. We believe in him. He’s a great player. I was just sharing with him, that there’s parts of the game that we all wish we could have back today.”
“Nothing that anybody says is going to make him feel better,” said receiver Calvin Austin, who himself had a big mistake in the game. “I know that from my own mess ups. It’s about taking ownership of it. We are a team. Once we didn’t get the win, no matter how good you played, you didn’t play good enough.”
“A saying that we say a lot, ‘travel light’” said tailback Jaylen Warren. “Don’t let the last play affect the next play. Whatever happened, your best play is your next play. I know we all got him. Nothing to panic about.”
“Kaleb is a great kid. This is a what have you done for me lately league. You have to learn how to deal with adversity the right way. You can’t let this get your confidence down. You can’t hang your head. This is a professional league and we expect greatness, but we also understand there is going to be mistakes. You have to move on and get better.”
Warren added it’s about the counterpunch for Johnson now who said its part of football and part of life.
“Just don’t think about it,” Johnson said. “Just keep on moving, we got a long season.”