Former NFL ref tries to bail Diontae Johnson out on benchable offense

The Pittsburgh Steelers' first game under interim offensive coordinator Eddie Faulkner has been... interesting, to say the least.

Kenny Pickett found Diontae Johnson in the back of the end zone with 4:45 left in the first quarter of Sunday's matchup with the Cincinnati Bengals — what appeared, for a brief moment in time, to be the first score of the game. That is, until Johnson dropped the football and it was deemed incomplete.

The natural first reaction for many in the fanbase was anger. Johnson has been largely ineffective since returning from injury, catching 26 of 47 targets for 335 yards and one touchdown in six games. Far removed from his billing as WR1.

Then, the anger shifted onto the refs, instead of Johnson, as former NFL official Gene Steratore argued that it should have been a catch. Johnson got a third foot down, so the "drop" at the end shouldn't matter. He was in control and made a move in the end zone, that's a score. In theory.

Did the refs screw over Diontae Johnson and the Pittsburgh Steelers?

In the end, it would appear that — by definition — Johnson should have been awarded a touchdown. The NFL refs are paid to make difficult, borderline impossible split-second calls, and this would appear to be one they missed in real time.

That said... it's extremely difficult to make that call. Those viewing at home all considered it a drop at first blush. Without the benefit of replay review (and Mike Tomlin decided not to challenge), it's hard to truly "blame" the ref for mistaking Johnson's drop for, well, a drop. If he maintained control all the way through the end zone, the Steelers would have a touchdown. It gets tricky when the conversation becomes "how many steps did he take before he dropped the football?"

While the blame was momentarily lifted from Johnson's shoulders, he committed an even more egregious act moments later, standing idly after a nonexistent block attempt while a live fumble was picked up and returned several yards down field by the Bengals' defense.

That, my friends, will not endear you to the fanbase.

There is optimism that a new playcaller will drastically improve the Steelers' offense, but Johnson's limited enthusiasm is telling. He's not the first Steelers wideout to look completely nonchalant on the field this season, so it's a problem the team needs to address internally.