WATCH: Rookie Caleb Johnson’s Kickoff Blunder Hands Seahawks a Free Touchdown
The Pittsburgh Steelers’ Week 2 clash with the Seattle Seahawks turned disastrous in the fourth quarter when rookie returner Caleb Johnson committed a costly special-teams mistake that directly led to a Seahawks touchdown.
With the Steelers trailing 17-14 and 12:46 left on the clock, Seattle kicker Jason Myers booted a 54-yard kickoff. The ball took a bad bounce in the new NFL kickoff landing zone and glanced off Johnson’s hands. Instead of recovering it, Johnson hesitated and failed to pursue the live ball. Seattle’s George Holani pounced in the end zone, extending the Seahawks’ lead to 23-14 (eventually 24-14 after the extra point).
The mental error was glaring, especially under the league’s updated kickoff rules, which state that any ball landing in the 20-yard landing zone must be returned or downed. Johnson not only touched the ball but then froze, seemingly unaware that the play remained live. The mistake mirrored infamous gaffes from Steelers history, most notably Barry Foster’s miscue in 1990 that also gifted points to an opponent.
It wasn’t the first concern with Johnson, who had already struggled with kickoff returns in the preseason and even fumbled in Week 1 against the Jets before the Steelers recovered. This latest blunder proved too costly to overlook, as coaches quickly benched him in favor of Jaylen Warren for the next return.
The play became a turning point in the game and sparked heavy criticism from fans online, many blasting Johnson as “clueless” and unprepared for basic special-teams responsibilities. For a Steelers team already battling injuries and thin margins, such a misstep raised serious questions about discipline and execution on special teams.
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