Yet again it required very nearly two years, however Diontae Johnson found the end zone on Thursday, pulling in a final quarter score to dominate the match for his Pittsburgh Steelers in emotional style.
The Steelers crushed the Tennessee Titans, 20-16, on Thursday night via the late-game score get by Johnson, denoting the wide recipient's most memorable TD snatch since Week 17 of the 2021 season, a hole of 668 days and 21 games between scores.
Following, 16-13, with nine minutes left in the game, Pittsburgh set out upon a 11-play, 92-yard drive that began at its 8-yard line and finished in a 3-yard gathering for Johnson, with Kenny Pickett finding his veteran wideout for the score, which was likewise the principal TD association for the pair since Pickett was drafted.
In the wake of standing by so lengthy to get that tricky score, it obviously was a help for Johnson to move past the obstacle at long last.
“Goodness definitely, I mean [668] days since I've scored, I'm cheerful I had the option to get in the end zone today,” Johnson said after the game. “I seen it on Twitter today, and I was like, ‘Truly, it's been that long?' Yet it resembles I'm saying, I'm glad that I got in the end zone, and anticipating getting in the end zone one week from now.”
In the wake of praising with his partners in the end zone, Johnson should have been visible on the transmission surrendering in the air, as though to say “At long last!”
The Titans had two additional chances to score, yet after their guard areas of strength for held the two drives, the Steelers left away with the success, moving to 5-3 on the rear of Johnson's streak-breaking score.
Johnson was in no way, shape or form imperceptible during his scoring dry spell, playing in every one of the 17 of the Steelers' games in 2022 and recording 882 getting yards to lead all Pittsburgh recipients. While he's missed four games while on harmed hold this season, Johnson has recorded rounds of 79, 85, and presently 90 yards getting since getting back from his hamstring injury in Week 7. That makes him the main Steelers player with 75 or more getting yards in three sequential games since he did it in 2021, per NFL Exploration.
He simply hadn't had the option to find the end zone, a problem which Johnson said has constantly baffled him all through the last two seasons, regardless of whether he did whatever it takes not to zero in on it.
“It was intense,” Johnson said. “I was making an effort not to consider it and yet it's like, alright, I must sort out whether or not I must accomplish something else, certain courses or anything that it was, however acting naturally and not squeezing every single week, simply allowing the ball to find me, continue to get open, and that occurred.”
Presently, with the Steelers back in the success segment with a long end of the week ahead prior to confronting the Green Narrows Packers, Johnson will proceed with the work to guarantee he and Pickett can interface on additional scores as quickly as possible, rather than holding up an additional 668 days.
