Bizarre kick-return mental gaffe by Kaleb Johnson crucial in Seahawks’ win over Steelers

A rookie running back misunderstanding the rules for returning a kickoff? History repeated itself Sunday for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Some 35 years after a mental gaffe by Barry Foster cost the Steelers an opponent touchdown, during Sunday’s 2025 regular-season home opener it was Kaleb Johnson who similarly erred to give the Seattle Seahawks an easy seven points en route to a 31-17 victory at Acrisure Stadium.

A third-round pick out of Iowa, Johnson’s role on offense early during his rookie season has been limited to one carry per game through two weeks. But Johnson has been used to return kickoffs.

The Seahawks just recovered a kickoff in the end zone for a touchdown!

SEAvsPIT on FOX/FOX Onehttps://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/0J1gEbqx4r

— NFL (@NFL) September 14, 2025

Early in the fourth quarter Sunday after a Seattle field goal gave them the lead, a Jason Myers kickoff bounced toward Johnson as he stood on the right side of the field near the 5 yard-line. Johnson whiffed on fielding the ball as it bounced awkwardly and sailed past him into the end zone.

But as Johnson walked slowly up the field — presumably toward the Steelers’ bench and under the impression that the kickoff was resulting in a touchback — multiple Seahawks players sprinted to the ball.

“Poor judgment by a young player,” Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said of Johnson.

Seattle’s George Holani fell on the ball just before it reached the back line, establishing possession enough that officials ruled it a Seahawks touchdown.

Steelers rookie Kaleb Johnson explains his gaffe on the kickoff return pic.twitter.com/JC86pspxJY

— Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) September 14, 2025

“I just made a mistake,” Johnson said. “I’ve got to stick on to it, and move on and just continue to get better every day.”

The NFL before last season significantly amended its kickoff rule, among other things adding a “landing zone” where balls must land (inside the 20 yard-line). Johnson, of course, was playing under NCAA rules for the past three seasons.

The NFL kickoff rule reads as such:

Any kick that hits in the landing zone and then goes into the end zone — must be returned or downed by receiving team.

This differs from the current NCAA rule, in which an untouched ball on a kickoff that lands in the end zone is immediately dead and ruled an automatic touchback.

“I’ve just got to get better every day. That’s all I have to say about this,” Johnson said. “That was on me … I’ve just gotta just go in there every day now and just work my hardest. Now, even moreso. (Keep) my chip on my shoulder.

“I’ve just got to stick to it and move on. (Mistakes are) part of football and a part of life.”

Although it appeared the ball might have brushed against Johnson’s fingers, the NFL’s official gamebook did not recognize a muff on the play.

Johnson did not directly answer when asked if it touched him, which would have made the play a live ball in the end zone, even under college rules. He similarly did not offer a direct reply when asked if he understood the NFL kickoff rules.

“If I wasn’t sure, (or) if I was sure, it doesn’t matter,” he said. “I’ve still gotta do what I gotta do, and I’ve still gotta go in there and execute the way it needs to be executed.”

Kaleb Johnson....shades of Barry Foster in 1990 https://t.co/6NujikbI7C pic.twitter.com/iP8BxKodCD

— Kevin Gallagher (@KevG163) September 14, 2025

On Oct. 21, 1990, then-rookie Steelers running back Barry Foster did not attempt to field a kickoff hit toward him during a game at the San Francisco 49ers. Foster played the boot like a punt — but the 49ers pounced on the free ball and scored soon thereafter en route to a 27-7 win.

Sunday, Johnson stood at his locker and took questions from reporters immediately after the Steelers’ locker room was open to media after the game. The accountability was noticed by veteran teammates, many of whom made strongly supportive statements.

“Kaleb is a great kid,” quarterback Aaron Rodgers said. “When you deal with adversity, you have to learn 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 are going to be mistakes. They happen, we’re human and you have to move on and get better.”

The irony of a special teams play taking a prominent role in a Steelers home-opening defeat is that in the season opener the week prior it was a special-teams play that probably was most responsible for a Steelers win.

During the Sept. 7 win at the New York Jets, Kenneth Gainwell forced a fumble on a kickoff return that led to the second touchdown of a sequence of 14 points in 50 seconds for the Steelers in a 34-32 win.

“Isn’t that something? Special teams are important, go figure,” special teams captain Miles Killebrew said.

Killebrew emphasized that up and down the roster each player can, too, surely point to a play that he could have made better. The focus now is on preparing for next week’s game, not on admonishing Johnson for his mistake.

“He’s gonna be hard on himself, right?” Killebrew said. “We just have to make sure that everyone knows that as a team, we’ve got each other’s backs. And that we believe in him.”