PITTSBURGH — Kaleb Johnson learned a lesson about the hardest way one can be taught. In front of a jam-packed stadium on Sunday afternoon, the Pittsburgh Steelers tailback let a fourth-quarter Seattle Seahawks kickoff land at the 10-yard line and roll into the end zone.
Rather than retreat to down it for a touchback, he headed toward his sideline, appearing to believe he wasn't required to retrieve it.
"It's poor judgment by a young player," Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said afterward about Johnson's gaffe.
The Seahawks' George Holani pounced on the ball for a touchdown that gave the visitors a 10-point edge with 12:46 to go.
"With the new kickoff rules, if it lands in the landing zone — whether you touch it or not — and it rolls into the end zone, you have to down it," said Steelers safety Jabrill Peppers , the only player in black and gold who was chasing the ball as it rocked to a stop in the grass.
Pittsburgh Steelers running back Kaleb Johnson in a game against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Aug. 9, 2025 — Ed Thompson / Steelers Now
Peppers also estimated that a big special teams play increases a team's odds of winning by at least 40%. The Steelers' setback will be a particularly tough pill for Johnson to swallow.
"Saying what we say a lot here. Travel light," fellow Steelers running back Jaylen Warren said afterward. "Don't let the last play affect the next play. Whatever happened. Your best play is your next play, so I know he's gonna be good. We've all got him. Nothing to panic about."
Warren knows his words of wisdom are much easier said than done.
"I said, if you're gonna take it from anybody, take it from me. I've made a lot of mistakes," Warren said. "It's the counterpunch. It's how you come back from things that's gonna matter."
Johnson was asked after the defeat whether he knew the touchback rule, but he didn't give a concrete answer.
"If I wasn't sure, if I was sure, (it) doesn't matter," Johnson said. "I still gotta do what I gotta do, and I still gotta go in there and execute the way it needs to be executed."
"Probably (not)," Warren said. "I know if he knew the down, then he would've downed it. There's probably just some gray area in there."
Warren added that special teams coordinator Danny Smith "does a great job of informing us whenever something like that does happen. (When you're) in the game, you're in the stadium, sometimes you may forget things. It's easy to do that."
Tomlin reinforced that his players should be aware.
"Every day of our lives," Tomlin said when asked if it's something the Steelers work on in practice.
Peppers offered his own advice to Johnson.
"Just from a vet and a guy who used to return a lot, I told him to hold his head (up), tried to explain the different rules to him and things like that," Peppers said. "You never wanna touch the stove to know that it's hot, but he'll learn from it."
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now : 'Poor Judgment': How Rookie RB Kaleb Johnson Cost the Steelers and What Happens Next
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