Diontae Johnson’s Presence Creates Chain Reaction For Steelers Offense
Photo Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
The Pittsburgh Steelers felt Diontae Johnson’s absence.
Johnson, who went down with a hamstring injury during the Steelers’ Week 1 loss to the San Francisco 49ers, returned to the field Sunday against the Los Angeles Rams after missing the previous four games. He finished with 79 yards on five receptions in the team’s victory.
“The last four weeks were tough, but it happens,” Johnson said after the game against the Rams. “It’s just how you come out in the end. I came out with the right mindset and attacked rehab and stuff like that. I thank the trainers for just keeping my head level through the whole process. Now I’m back and looking forward to next week.”
While he was gone, save for a third quarter drive in Week 3 against the Las Vegas Raiders and the game-winning drive in Week 5 against the Baltimore Ravens, the offense looked stagnant, uninventive, and just downright boring.
Sure, Matt Canada deserves plenty of the blame for not adjusting the scheme and playcalling accordingly in Johnson’s absence, but it’s not necessarily all on him. When Johnson is healthy and on the field he gives the team a whole added dimension that opposing defenses have to account for, which in turn, opens things up for the rest of the skill players on offense.
Johnson is the Steelers’ best route runner. He’s not a freak athlete like George Pickens. Pickens can simply use his superior speed and athleticism to beat defensive backs for the ball. Johnson gets open because he runs crisp, clean routes that allow Kenny Pickett to get him the ball.
“It gives Kenny another weapon out there,” Johnson said. “Let us show that I can get open on almost any play. That’s my special ability — getting open with route running. That’s what Kenny needs out there. …Me being able to run routes out there brings a lot of upside to our offense.”
His presence also prevents opposing defenses from keying in on Pickens downfield and either doubling him or scheming him out of the game.
“You can’t double George as much as you’d like. I think that’s what we saw today,” Pickett said Sunday. “He was more singled up, giving him a chance on slants and things down the field.”
But his return might be most helpful for the run game. Before, teams could simply key on Pickens, play man elsewhere, and then sell out in the box to either stop the run or pressure Pickett. But no longer.
We saw on Sunday what Johnson’s presence can do for the Steelers. It took a couple quarters to settle in, but then it was off to the races.
For three quarters the offense looked like its same listless self. Up to that point, the Steelers had mustered just 110 total yards of offense and 10 total points. The team’s lone touchdown came on a 7-yard drive after TJ Watt had picked off Matthew Stafford and returned the ball into the red zone.
But then, everything changed. As the quarter number changed from “3” to “4,” the Steelers looked like a different team. On the very first play of the final quarter, the Steelers faced another third-and-long. They lined up with four wide receivers and Jaylen Warren in the backfield. Johnson was lined up tight in trips left. He ran a seven-yard curl route and Pickett hit him inside. He then shrugged off his defender and took off upfield, breaking two more tackles before eventually running out of bounds after a 39-yard pickup.
“They were in man, so I feel like it was a really good route for him,” Pickett said. “He’s a great route runner and gets separation. I just wanted to give him a chance to convert on third down. It was great to have him back. I think you saw the effects of having him and George out there on both sides, moving guys inside and out. They’re two tough guys to cover.”
It was the spark the offense needed and it set off a chain reaction for everything that followed.
The Steelers finished off the drive with a 13-yard touchdown run from Warren, the team’s first rushing touchdown by a running back of the season. That score tied the game. On their next offensive possession, they marched 80 yards in 10 plays. The whole time, the offense was on schedule and ahead of the sticks, and it resulted in the go-ahead and game-winning touchdown by Najee Harris. In the fourth quarter alone, the Steelers had 190 total yards.
“We were playing the type of football we want to play,” Pickett said. “That’s what we’ve been working towards and I think the run game balanced the pass game really well. Everything that we’ve been working towards, you started to see it there in that fourth quarter. It was good to see.”
Credit where credit is due, whatever adjustments Canada and the Steelers’ offensive staff made at halftime seemed to work.
Johnson’s presence on the field has long been underrated for this team. His return could very well be the spark the offense needs as the Steelers sit at 4-2 with very winnable upcoming games against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Tennessee Titans and Green Bay Packers before back-to-back showdowns against divisional rivals Cleveland Browns and Cincinnati Bengals.
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