Diontae Johnson's benching with new team proves Steelers right once and for all

The Baltimore Ravens fell to the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday afternoon in a game where their offense and special teams struggled to finish drives. With the loss, the Ravens are now two games behind the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC North.

Speaking of those pesky Steelers, they rebounded nicely from a Thursday night loss to the Cleveland Browns by defeating the Cincinnati Bengals on the road Sunday, scoring 44 points in the process. Pittsburgh's offense hasn't functioned this well since 2018, when Ben Roethlisberger was at the helm. These days, they are led by another veteran QB in Russell Wilson, who had the team's first 400-yard passing game since the aforementioned Big Ben.

The Ravens acquired wide receiver Diontae Johnson at the trade deadline in hopes of helping their passing game. Johnson, being a former Steeler himself, is familiar with this rivalry, though he is typically on the other end of it. Johnson hasn't made much of an impact in Baltimore just yet – including just two targets for zero yards against Pittsburgh. In fact, Johnson doesn't have a single reception in the last three weeks.

Why hasn't Diontae Johnson made an impact for the Ravens?

When asked about Johnson's lack of reps, Ravens head coach John Harbaugh kept matters close to the vest.

“I’m not really ready to comment on that right now. I will be, just don’t have enough information right now to talk about that,” Harbaugh said.

QB Lamar Jackson claims Johnson is a "great receiver" and the team wants to get him the ball. If that's the case, then why isn't he in the game, even when his teammate Rashod Bateman went down with an injury?

The short answer is we don't know. Johnson should be available to help his team, but he isn't. It's frustrating to Ravens fans, and a feeling Steelers supporters can relate to.

Just this past offseason, Omar Khan traded the talented Johnson to the Carolina Panthers for cornerback Donte Jackson and draft capital. The Steelers still haven't found a competent WR2 next to George Pickens, but rumblings around the building suggest Johnson was doing more harm than good in the locker room – and certainly wasn't setting a good example for Pickens.

Getting rid of Johnson was addition by subtraction, even if Pittsburgh's wide receiving corps is lacking for the moment. Sunday's Ravens distraction has proven Khan right, once and for all.