The NFL is a whole new ballgame, and it can take rookies time to get up to speed. Pittsburgh Steelers rookie running back Kaleb Johnson learned a lesson the hard way in his second career game.
In the fourth quarter of the Steelers’ game against the Seattle Seahawks, Johnson was back to field a kick after Seattle kicked a field goal to make the score 17-14. The ball bounced in front of the rookie and took a big hop into the end zone. Johnson watched the ball, but didn’t pursue it, allowing Seattle to recover the ball in the end zone for a touchdown.
It’s unclear whether the ball touched Johnson, but the rules state that a ball in the end zone must be returned or downed; not doing so left a live ball in play. Johnson declined to say if he knew the rule.
“If I wasn’t sure, if I was sure, it doesn’t matter,” he said. “I still got to do what I got to do, and I still got to go in there and execute the way it needs to be executed.”
Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin didn’t mince words about the play.
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“It was poor judgment by a young player,” Tomlin said.
He also said the Steelers practice the kickoff “every day of [their] lives”.
Fortunately for Johnson, it isn’t a mistake you make twice. Unfortunately for Johnson, he was stripped of his kick return duties on the ensuing kickoff.
The Steelers went on to lose the game by a final score of 31-17. They’ll travel to New England for a meeting with the Patriots in week three.
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Featured image via Travis Register/Imagn Images