The Pittsburgh Steelers’ offense has been searching for answers in recent weeks, and one of them might be to take more deep shots to Diontae Johnson.
After going down 24-7, Johnson made a diving 39-yard touchdown to trim the Steelers’ deficit against the Indianapolis Colts:
Diontae Johnson lays out for the TD catch 🔥 @Juiceup__3 #HereWeGo
📺: #INDvsPIT on CBS
📱: NFL app // Yahoo Sports app: https://t.co/IFHvVPw7XT pic.twitter.com/6h9lLx7805— NFL (@NFL) December 27, 2020
Throughout the season, the Steelers have had a lack of big plays down the field. Of course, a lot of that can be attributed to Ben Roethlisberger being 38 years old and losing some heat on his fastball.
Due to Roethlisberger’s lack of arm strength, the wide receivers of the Steelers aren’t getting many yards per reception. As a matter of fact, coming into Sunday’s game, Johnson only had 9.8 yards per reception. He had 77 catches for 753 yards and six touchdowns before Sunday’s crucial game against the Colts.
However, with Pittsburgh facing a large deficit, Roethlisberger surprisingly took a shot to Johnson down the right side of the field. On the other end of the pass, Johnson made a spectacular diving reception to give the Steelers their first passing touchdown of the game.
When it comes to Johnson, drops have been a massive concern for the second-year wideout out of Toledo. Prior to facing the Colts, Johnson had a league-worst 12 drops, helping Pittsburgh’s receiving corps to lead the NFL in drops.
If the Steelers want to get their offense back on track, they need to be able to stretch the field vertically. Maybe Johnson’s touchdown grab will spark some life in an offense that has been nonexistent in the past month.
Pittsburgh has since scored two more touchdowns, giving them a 28-24 lead.