After the Steelers dropped seven passes in their Week 13 loss to Washington, head coach Mike Tomlin said that the team would replace receivers who continued to have issues on that front.
No receiver on the team or in the league has had a bigger issue with drops than Diontae Johnson and he picked up right where he left off in last Sunday night’s game against the Bills. Johnson dropped passes on the team’s first two possessions -- he has 12 drops on the year -- and then found himself on the bench for the rest of the first half.
Johnson returned in the second half and caught three passes for 40 yards while playing fewer snaps than he had in any other game.
“I thought he responded appropriately,” Tomlin said, via Joe Rutter of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “He didn’t pout. He waited for his next opportunity and, when his next opportunity came, he was productive.”
The Steelers haven’t scored 20 points in any of their last three games and have had no luck getting their run game going, so the drops are just part of an overall offensive swoon for the AFC North leaders. If things don’t get right against the Bengals on Monday night, there will be plenty of doubt about their ability to get it done at all.