Diontae Johnson admits frustration, won’t discuss sideline dispute with Steelers coach Mike Tomlin
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The disconnect between quarterback Kenny Pickett and wide receiver Diontae Johnson was on display multiple times in the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 13-10 loss to the Cleveland Browns on Sunday.
Pickett would throw deep for Johnson, only to have the veteran pass catcher pull up short as the ball sailed by. Or Johnson would break down the field and see the ball land short behind him.
Johnson was targeted eight times Sunday and caught just two of Pickett’s passes. And that didn’t happen for the first time until the fourth quarter. Those catches netted Johnson 9 yards, but he was awarded 7 more on the lateral that ended the game after Cleveland kicked the go-ahead field goal with 2 seconds remaining.
Johnson, the team’s highest-paid offensive player, let his frustrations loose during the break before the final quarter when he got into an animated discussion with coach Mike Tomlin on the sideline. He thrust his arms into the air while Tomlin tried to calm him down.
Johnson was just as vocal after the game when he told reporters within earshot that he would not be granting interviews. He was more subdued Monday, a day when Steelers players met to review the loss that dropped their record to 6-4 and into third place in the AFC North heading into their divisional matchup Sunday at Cincinnati (5-5).
“I was frustrated a little bit,” Johnson admitted. “Nothing to make a big deal of. It was yesterday. I’m looking forward to this week.”
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Johnson declined to discuss his sideline alteration with Tomlin.
“You all seen the game,” he said. “I shouldn’t have to say anything about that.”
Johnson’s 26 receptions are third on the team, and his 335 yards are second. When he does get the ball, he is averaging 12.9 yards per catch, the highest total of his five-year career. Based on his reactions, Johnson doesn’t believe he’s getting the ball enough in an offense that has struggled to find a passing rhythm the entire season.
He admitted Monday there are occasions when he has been open and Pickett has not gotten him the ball, an assertion fellow receiver George Pickens previously has made.
“Sometimes, yeah,” Johnson said. “Film don’t lie.”
Pickett acknowledged he and Johnson had a misunderstanding about routes that were run in a game in which the quarterback completed 15 of 28 passes for a season-low 106 yards. One was on the final drive when all three Pickett targets to Johnson fell incomplete.
“It’s something that can’t happen,” Pickett said. “We have to get it ironed out, obviously, especially in a big moment like that. We had some earlier in the game.”
Pickett’s inconsistency has raised speculation that backup Mitch Trubisky might get a look Sunday against the Bengals.
“I haven’t heard anything,” Trubisky said Monday.
Trubisky knew the root of the miscommunication between the Steelers’ second-year quarterback and star receiver.
“I’m not going to disclose what happened,” Trubisky said. “They need to get on the same page. I’m not going to say whose fault it was. Whenever the play doesn’t work, it’s everybody’s fault, including me, including everybody on the team.
“We’ve all got to buy in, point the thumb at yourself and say, how can I get better?”
After getting points on two of 11 possessions and being shut out in the first half for the second time this season, the Steelers continue to rank No. 28 in yards and points per game. Running back Najee Harris implied a meeting among offensive players to address the issues was forthcoming.
Center Mason Cole said he is open to such communication but wondered if it really is necessary after 10 games.
“We’ve had those talks and conversations,” he said. “At some point, we’re going to have to do something about it. We just can’t sit here every time after a loss, come in here and have a big kumbaya and try to figure out the world’s problems, right? It’s about execution and playing good football, and we didn’t do that.”
Trubisky also tried to be the voice of reason and doesn’t see the Steelers as a dysfunctional group.
“Sometimes after a game like that, you can feel separated,” he said. “We have to reel everyone back in. That’s what you do on Monday. Everybody comes back together, you refocus, look at film and correct it.”
Johnson expects to hash out his issues with Pickett on the practice fields at UPMC Rooney Complex as the Steelers prepare to face the Bengals on the road.
“That’s where it starts,” he said. “Stuff happens. You can’t fault him for that. He’s not perfect, so I can’t sit here and blame him. I’m not pointing fingers at anybody. I was frustrated, but you can’t just sit here and blame him. It’s part of the game.”