Special teams played a key role in the Pittsburgh Steelers coming back to defeat the New York Jets during Week 1. It did again in Pittsburgh’s defeat to the Seattle Seahawks during the team’s home opener Sunday.
Rookie running back Kaleb Johnson muffed a kickoff return with the Steelers trailing by three points in the fourth quarter. The ball then rolled into the end zone.
Failing to realize the ball was live because it initially touched down in the landing zone, Johnson gave up on the play. Seahawks running back George Holani recovered the loose ball just before it rolled out of bounds for a touchdown.
Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin summarized Johnson’s mistake in one sentence during his postgame press conference.
“It’s poor judgement by a young player,” said Tomlin.
Mike Tomlin Addresses How Much Steelers Have Practiced Kickoff Return With New Rules
Tomlin received one follow-up question Sunday to his one-sentence answer to Johnson’s mistake. The follow-up inquiry was how much the team has practiced the kickoff return with the new rules installed this year.
Tomlin also kept his answer to that question brief.
“Every day of our lives,” said Tomlin.
The touchdown that came as the result of the muffed kickoff gave the Seahawks a 10-point lead.
The Steelers responded with a field goal on their next drive. But a touchdown from Seattle on the next possession put the game out of reach for the Steelers.
Pittsburgh suffered a 31-17 loss in the home opener to the Seahawks.
After the rookie’s mistake, fellow running back Kenneth Gainwell replaced Johnson on the Steelers kickoff return team.
With the league’s new rules, when the ball lands between the goal line and the 20-yard line on a kickoff, it’s live. Johnson appeared to think the ball initially hit down elsewhere or thought a kickoff worked just like a punt, and he had the option whether or not to return the ball.
There’s more to keep track of with the new kickoff rules in the league. However, kickoffs have never been like punts in the NFL.
It’s somewhat unexplainable how Johnson failed to recognize a ball that bounced right in front of him on a kickoff wasn’t live.
Aaron Rodgers’ Fires Encouraging Message to Kaleb Johnson
The Steelers starting quarterback also received questions about Johnson’s special teams mistake in his postgame press conference. Aaron Rodgers offered a longer, more encouraging answer.
“Kaleb’s a great kid. This is a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately league. When you have success early on, you have to learn how to handle success,” Rodgers said. “And when you deal with adversity, 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 that there’s going to be mistakes. They happen. We’re human, and you’ve got to move on and get better.”
Rodgers continued, saying he knows Johnson will “come to work” to get better starting Monday and Tuesday to prepare for Week 3.
The rookie running back, who the Steelers drafted in the third round this past spring, has not carved out a role on offense yet. He had one carry for one yard in Week 2.
So, Johnson’s best chance of making an impact early this season might be to regain the coaching staff’s trust for a special teams role.
Steelers’ Mike Tomlin Fires 1 Line on Rookie’s Costly Mistake in Loss to Seahawks