PITTSBURGH — A boneheaded play by rookie running back Kaleb Johnson early in the fourth quarter turned a tight game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Seattle Seahawks on its ear, leading to a 31-17 Seattle victory.
The Seahawks had just kicked long Josh Myers field goal to take a three-point lead, taking a narrow lead in what had been a tight game throughout.
On the ensuing kickoff, Johnson let the ball bounce over his head, and then did not cover it in the end zone. Seattle running back George Holani covered the ball in the back of the end zone for a touchdown, making the Seattle lead 10 points.
Johnson, the team's third-round pick out of Iowa, got just one carry on offense for one yard, and had only one carry last week. He returned three kickoffs for 58 yards against the Seahawks.
The Steelers answered with a Chris Boswell field goal to get the game back to one score, but then the Seahawks drove right back down the field against a gassed and sloppy Steelers defense, with a Kenneth Walker III taking a toss 19 yards for a score on a 3rd and goal from the 19-yard line.
Walker finished with 13 carries for 105 yards and the touchdown, the second straight week the Steelers defense allowed a 100-yard rusher. The Steelers' highest-paid defense in the NFL also allowed 30 points to be second against them for the second straight game, though seven went against the special teams.
The defense started the game without Derrick Harmon , Joey Porter Jr. and DeShon Elliott , lost Alex Highsmith and Isaiahh Loudermilk to in-game injuries, and saw Patrick Queen and Payton Wilson play through ailments at obviously less than 100%.
Unable to get off the field for most of the game, the Steelers defense allowed four drives of eight plays or more, and was on the field for 61 plays against.
The only reason they were able to keep the score as close as they did was a pair of splash plays, with Jalen Ramsey intercepting Sam Darnold in the first half and Nick Herbig grabbing a pass tipped by Cam Heyward later in the game. T.J. Watt held without a sack for the sixth consecutive game.
The Pittsburgh offense didn't manage much beyond the contributions of running back Jaylen Warren . He run 14 times for 48 yards and caught four passes for 86 yards for 134 yards from scrimmage. The entire rest of the Steelers offense managed just 133.
Aaron Rodgers finished 18 of 33 for 303 yards and threw one touchdown to DK Metcalf , but was also intercepted twice — once on a ball off the hands of Calvin Austin III in the end zone, and the other on a desperate fourth down play at the end of the game.
The Steelers, now 1-1, will go back on the road for a Week 3 game at the New England Patriots .
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now : Special Teams Error, Leaky Defense Sink Steelers vs. Seahawks, 31-17
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