Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Diontae Johnson joined pretty much the rest of his offense in being frustrated during Sunday’s ugly 13-10 loss to the division-rival Cleveland Browns.
That frustration apparently came close to boiling over as Johnson went to go after a member of the Steelers’ coaching staff.
“Then there was Johnson getting visibly upset on the sidelines during the second half Sunday, which was significant enough that rookie offensive tackle Broderick Jones had to pick him up and carry him away from a member of the coaching staff,” Mark Kaboly of The Athletic noted on Monday. “That led to a lengthy sideline talk between Johnson and coach Mike Tomlin during the give-and-take moment.”
There were several miscommunications between Johnson and struggling quarterback Kenny Pickett throughout Sunday’s three-point loss to Cleveland. That included Pickett missing a wide open Johnson in the fourth quarter with Pittsburgh trailing 10-7.
Johnson did speak on Pickett after the game, seemingly throwing some sort of support behind his much-maligned quarterback.
“He’s not perfect, so I can’t sit here and blame him. Not pointing fingers at nobody. It’s a part of the game,” Pittsburgh’s wide receiver told reporters.
Johnson finished the game having caught just 2-of-8 targets for 16 yards in the loss. It obviously added to his frustration as the game went on.
Related: Pittsburgh Steelers standing in Sportsnaut’s NFL offense rankings
Diontae Johnson is latest Pittsburgh Steelers player to be frustrated
Despite boasting an otherwise solid 6-4 record on the season, Pittsburgh’s offense just has not been up to snuff. It ranks 28th in the NFL in scoring at 16.6 points per game. This unit also ranks 31st in the NFL in passing.
It led to running back Najee Harris displaying his own brand of frustration immediately following Sunday’s loss.
“Do I think everybody is team-first on this team? I’d rather not talk about them, I’ll just talk about me and my performance. There’s just a lot of stuff that just goes around that you guys don’t see. I’m just at a point, where I’m just tired of this s–t.”
Pittsburgh Steelers running back Najee Harris after team’s 13-10 loss
It stands to reason that frustration would be palpable given just how much Pittsburgh’s offense has struggled under coordinator Matt Canada. That includes scoring 10 points or less a total of four times on the campaign.
As for Diontae Johnson, it’s not yet known the coach that he was going after. The good news? Broderick Jones sits at 6-foot-5 and weighs 311 pounds. Johnson didn’t stand a chance against the massive offensive tackle.