The Pittsburgh Steelers dropped a narrow affair to the Denver Broncos this past week, losing their first game since all the way back in Week 4.
One of the biggest plays of the game came when rookie wide receiver James Washington attempted to make a diving catch on a long pass from Ben Roethlisberger.
As you can see in the video below, there was absolutely no reason for the former Oklahoma State standout to actually dive for the ball. If he had run through the ball, it would’ve been a touchdown for the Steelers.
Would have been INSANE. https://t.co/d8w93oixoc
— The Checkdown (@thecheckdown) November 25, 2018
That’s just a foolish attempt to make a highlight-reel play. The end result of this drive was zero points for a Steelers team that lost by the score of 24-17.
In talking about the play at hand, Big Ben absolutely blasted his young pass catcher.
“Yes, he’s a rookie, but you’re not going to be out there if you’re not going to make those plays for us,” Roethlisberger said, via the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “He needs to have confidence in himself,. When you have trust and confidence in yourself, you use your hands and you catch the ball. I felt like when he jumped and dove, whatever you want to call it, it showed a lack of confidence in himself and his hands.”
The game might have ended on a Roethlisberger interception in the end zone, but no way is he wrong here. Pittsburgh is a legit contender to win the Super Bowl. It needs those on the field to actually step up.
Whether it’s a confidence issue or something else, Washington proved himself incapable this past weekend. That doesn’t bode well for his playing time moving forward. Period.