Kevin Gorman: Making moves, Steelers' Diontae Johnson brings big returns

GLENDALE, Ariz. — The Pittsburgh Steelers special-teamers were talking in film sessions about how Arizona Cardinals punter Andy Lee likes to outkick his coverage.

That’s something these Steelers certainly can relate to this season, winning for the seventh time in eight games. They are making a playoff push despite relying on rookies after a 1-4 start and a depth chart depleted by injuries.

When Lee boomed a 60-yard punt to Diontae Johnson, the rookie receiver/return specialist realized how much space there was for him “to make moves and whatnot.”

So, Johnson started to his left before breaking right, cutting across the field so fast that three Cardinals players fell as they tried to plant. Then Johnson saw a wall of blockers forming toward the right sideline, right in front of the Cardinals, and Jaylen Samuels frantically waving his arm to follow.

“I was like, ‘Yes!’ ” Johnson said, with a smile.

Once he crossed Arizona’s 40-yard line, Johnson “started to get a little winded.” He followed Samuels and Jordan Dangerfield and Tyler Matakevich, who provided an escort to the end zone much the same way so many Steelers did for James Harrison against the Cardinals in Super Bowl XLIII.

Difference is, Johnson went 85 yards untouched for the longest punt return for a touchdown in franchise history, the Steelers’ first since Antonio Brown’s 71-yarder against Indianapolis in 2015 and the first by a rookie since Santonio Holmes had a 65-yarder against Carolina in 2006.

The Steelers have to hope that connection continues to deliver. Holmes became a Super Bowl MVP, and his trade brought the sixth-round draft pick that the Steelers used on Brown, a seven-time Pro Bowl receiver whose trade brought the third-round draft pick that the Steelers used to select Johnson.

It was the first of many big plays Johnson made in a breakout performance to spark the Steelers to a 23-17 victory over the Cardinals on Sunday afternoon at State Farm Stadium.

“It’s exciting,” Johnson said. “In the NFL, the margin for stuff like that is real small. When you get the opportunities, you’ve just got to hit it. You can’t hesitate. It feels good. I was able to give the team momentum just off that play.”

Johnson provided the playmaking the Steelers desperately need, especially with JuJu Smith-Schuster out with a knee injury. More than anything, it was what Johnson needed. He took heat after disappearing against the Browns, with only a 14-yard run and a 17-yard catch, and Tomlin still wants to see more.

“He’s a rookie,” Tomlin said. “Days like today are days we like, and last week, we don’t. We’ll see what next week holds.”

If Tomlin sounds skeptical, it’s because the Steelers missed the playoffs last season even with Ben Roethlisberger throwing to Antonio Brown. Now, they are on the brink of making the playoffs, thanks to spectacular plays by Johnson and undrafted rookie quarterback Devlin “Duck” Hodges.

Truly, it’s hard to believe.

For the second consecutive game, Hodges out-dueled a Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback who was the NFL’s No. 1 overall draft pick. Last week, it was Baker Mayfield and the Cleveland Browns. This time, it was Kyler Murray and the Cardinals.

Duck and Johnson connected six times for 60 yards, several of them at critical junctures for the Steelers.

That included a short flare in the right flat that saw Johnson get bottled up by eight-time Pro Bowl cornerback Patrick Peterson, only to escape and reverse field for a 14-yard gain. Two plays later, Johnson caught a 2-yard touchdown on a tightrope near the left pylon to give the Steelers a 20-10 third-quarter lead.

None, however, was bigger than their final drive.

The Cardinals took advantage of a botched fake punt by Jordan Berry to force a fumble, and Murray threw a touchdown to David Johnson to cut the Steelers’ lead to 20-17 with 6 minutes, 44 seconds left. The Steelers needed to kill the clock and try to score.

Samuels took a direct snap and flipped the ball to Johnson on a reverse for a 16-yard gain to the Arizona 23. Then, on a third-and-13, Hodges rolled to his left and threw across his body to Johnson for a 17-yard gain for a first-and-goal at the 9 that set up Chris Boswell’s field goal for a six-point cushion.

“Diontae made a lot of great plays for us,” Samuels said. “The touchdown that he had, the punt return, the catch — he made plays all over the field.

“I knew it was coming. I knew he had it in him since he got here. For him to have a breakout game against this team on the road was big. We needed a spark, and he gave it to us.”

Now, the Steelers will expect more. They need to know they can count on Diontae Johnson to continue to make moves and whatnot, make plays all over the field and, especially, make opponents pay for outkicking their coverage.

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