Steelers Give Up A Touchdown In Most Embarrassing Way Possible
Return man Kaleb Johnson muffed a kickoff in an embarrassing way.
Man, the Pittsburgh Steelers are going to puke their guts out watching special teams film later this week.
The Black and Gold were in a tight battle with the visiting Seattle Seahawks, who had just gone up 17-14 on the scoreboard in the fourth quarter. Jason Meyers lined up to kick it off, and pounded it towards the endzone.
Kaleb Johnson was the closest guy to it for Pittsburgh to field the ball, but when it somersaulted over him, he just let it go thinking it would be a touchback. But the referees did not blow the play dead, and George Halani alertly booked it downfield and recovered the ball in the end zone.
The result of the play? Touchdown Seahawks.
Elation for Seattle. Complete embarrassment for Pittsburgh. I’m sure Johnson wanted the ground to swallow him up at that moment.
As the referee said, somebody has to field the ball if you get the kickoff in the landing zone, which Johnson clearly did not. He had the option of downing the ball and then bringing out to the 20, but he obviously forgot about that in the heat of the moment.
Johnson is a rookie, so he’s still getting acclimated to the NFL. But his growth is going to have to accelerate a lot if his goal is to get consistent playing time.
Seattle would end up getting their first win of the season by beating Pittsburgh 31-17.