Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Diontae Johnson broke out in 2021. He racked up 1161 receiving yards while also hauling in eight touchdown catches, setting himself up for an elite 2022.

However, things didn't exactly go that way. He recorded just 882 receiving yards, and he failed to catch a single touchdown pass the entire 2022 NFL season for the Steelers.

Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin addressed Johnson's lack of touchdowns in 2022. Overall, he isn't making excuses for what happened, and it comes down to where the team was at during the season.

“It was probably a reflection of us and where we were, and I have been pretty transparent about that,” Tomlin said. “We were very much a unit and a squad in development a year ago and we don’t apologize for that.”

Johnson wasn't the only Steelers receiver to see fewer touchdown receptions. Pittsburgh as a whole only managed 13 touchdown passes, by far the fewest of any team in the league.

“We did what we had to do to make ourselves competitive and especially down the stretch putting ourselves in a position to win,” Tomlin continued. “It provides us a platform in which we can grow, and those are intentions.”

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Johnson did come close to scoring a touchdown against both the Cleveland Browns and New York Jets. However, he was brought down one yard short on one and stepped out of bounds on the other.

Johnson, Tomlin, and the Steelers are putting this rough season behind them. “He’s a competitor. He wants to be a significant part of why we are successful,” the Steelers head coach said of his receiver on Monday.