Brooke Pryor, ESPN Staff Writer November 28, 2023, 1:50 p.m. ET
Close
- He previously covered the Kansas City Chiefs for the Kansas City Star and Oklahoma University for the Oklahoman.
PITTSBURGH – Coach Mike Tomlin declined to elaborate on wide receiver Diontae Johnson’s lack of reaction to the loose ball from Jaylen Warren’s fumble in the Steelers’ win over the Bengals on Sunday.
But Tomlin acknowledged that his fifth-year wide receiver needs to work on managing his emotions on the field.
“We have to take care of the ball,” Tomlin said Tuesday in his weekly press conference. “That is our wish. It’s the way we get the win and that’s why Jaylen has to do a better job there.”
“Diontae cannot allow the emotions of the previous down to influence his next down, but I will give him the opportunity to discuss this with you. I’ll give him the opportunity to discuss this with his teammates. I’m not doing that.” I’m going to add more color. I think pieces like this are best described and sketched by those involved rather than by people like me.”
Editor favorites
2 relatives
Johnson addressed the game after the win and said he didn’t see the ball.
“I just didn’t see it,” Johnson said Sunday. “I just did what I did back then: block or whatever it is.”
Shortly before Warren’s fumble, Johnson’s would-be touchdown was negated when he dropped the controversial catch out of bounds despite taking three steps into the end zone. Tomlin, who said he did not see a replay, did not challenge the verdict.
“They were final, and I lost track of it,” Tomlin said Sunday of the officials’ initial decision about the end zone incompletion. “There were people between me and him. I couldn’t count the steps. They never let us see it in the stadium again. We couldn’t see it fast enough at the top. Sometimes that happens when you’re in. Away, but some games are on the road, some games are at home, all those things in general too.
Warren’s fumble on the next play ended the Steelers’ first trip to the red zone against the Bengals. In total, the Steelers reached the red zone four times and only scored one touchdown. The Steelers rank 28th in red zone conversion percentage and score touchdowns on just 44% of their drives.
Against the Bengals, the Steelers ultimately gained more than 400 yards of offense, but that didn’t translate into points on the scoreboard. With 16 points, the Steelers were below their season average. A week earlier, Tomlin cited the need to score more touchdowns as a reason for moving offensive coordinator Matt Canada.
“I just want to see points,” Tomlin said last week, asking how he would like to see the offensive change schematically. “I want to make the win more fluid, and points do that.”
The 16-10 win over the Bengals was the Steelers’ seventh one-score win of the season and their eighth game was decided by seven points or fewer.
But on Tuesday, Tomlin downplayed the low scoring output. When asked what needs to happen for the offense to convert yards into points, Tomlin was short and vague.
“More of the same, more work, more execution,” he said. “We have a week to do something about it and I look forward to meeting and working with the group tomorrow.”