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Diontae Johnson appears to give up on ball after Steelers fumble, draws ire from analysts, fans | TribLIVE.com
Steelers/NFL

Diontae Johnson appears to give up on ball after Steelers fumble, draws ire from analysts, fans

Chris Adamski
6805832_web1_6805535-9337973853af4ea8906938a75ce9fd3f
AP
Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Diontae Johnson appeared to not make an attempt at a fumbled ball during the first quarter of Sunday’s loss at the Cincinnati Bengals.

CINCINNATI — Another week, another controversy involving a Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver.

Sunday, it was Diontae Johnson who once again was drawing ire from fans and analysts across the internet and on television for his apparent lack of effort on a first-quarter play early during a Steelers win against the Cincinnati Bengals.

Lined up to the left on a third-and-2 snap from the Bengals’ 15-yard line with 4 minutes, 45 seconds left the first quarter, Johnson first appeared indifferent to blocking Cincinnati cornerback DJ Turner on a running play by Jaylen Warren.

But the optics just got worse from there for Johnson, who last week reportedly got into an altercation with All Pro safety Minkah Fitzpatrick and was “chirping” Steelers coaches and other teammates in frustration.

As the ball bounced in the direction of Johnson after it was stripped out of Warren’s hands, Johnson’s body language appeared to show no urgency. He walked slowly away from the ball, his left hand adjusting his facemask.

Turner, meanwhile, had picked up the ball, and Johnson barely reacted as he sprinted past him down the sideline.

“You watch him and you say, ‘Move. Block. Do something,’” former All Pro and Super Bowl champion and current NBC analyst Devin McCourty said during the “Football Night In America” Sunday night pregame show. “He doesn’t block — if he has been blocking, he might not see the ball. But now he sees (the fumble and return). ‘You’re one of our fastest guys. Chase. Do something.’”

After the game when asked about the play by reporters, Johnson said, “I didn’t see (the fumble).

“I was just doing my job blocking or whatever it is.”

Many national media outlets and blogs saw it differently, openly calling out Johnson’s lack of effort.

Johnson responded to two of the posts criticizing him, albeit cryptically.

About 2½ hours after Sunday’s game ended, a post to Johnson’s account made what appeared to be an obvious reference to criticism related to the sequence by writing, “We won that’s all that matters” accompanied by emojis of heavy laughing and a shrug.

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Chris Adamski is a TribLive reporter who has covered primarily the Pittsburgh Steelers since 2014 following two seasons on the Penn State football beat. A Western Pennsylvania native, he joined the Trib in 2012 after spending a decade covering Pittsburgh sports for other outlets. He can be reached at cadamski@triblive.com.

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Categories: Sports | Steelers/NFL
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