Steelers’ Diontae Johnson ‘owns up’ to his bizarre fumble miss in win over the Bengals after being accused of lacking effort… despite claiming he ‘didn’t see it’ on the day: ‘It won’t happen again’

Pittsburgh Steelers star Diontae Johnson has taken responsibility for his viral missed fumble after being accused of lack of effort in their 16-10 win over the Cincinnati Bengals.

Johnson was upset on the play before the fumble when he appeared to catch a touchdown, but the pass was ruled incomplete after the officials ruled he had not survived the field to complete the catch.

On the next play, the wide receiver essentially stood still and completely failed to block anyone as if participating in a walk-through, while also missing a fumble that came his way.

After the game, Johnson initially claimed that he “didn’t see” the fumble and that it was in no way a reflection of his lack of enthusiasm.

However, three days later he ‘admitted’ the mistake and insisted it would not happen again.

After failing to actually block a defender, Johnson walked away as his teammate fumbled

Johnson initially claimed he did not see the fumble when he spoke to reporters after the game

“I presented the situation to my teammates,” Johnson said. ‘They know how I feel and how to handle the situation next time. I own it. I am not perfect. All I can do is move forward and keep playing football.”

Jaylen Warren fumbled the ball near Johnson as he was being tackled and the WR turned to walk toward the huddle as Cincinnati cornerback DJ Turner picked up the ball and ran 25 yards downfield before being tackled.

When initially asked about the play, Johnson had told reporters, “I haven’t seen it. “I was just doing my job blocking or whatever it is.”

Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin opted not to challenge the previous play, in part because of the back court’s emphatic decision. While Johnson gestured to the officials, he also didn’t go to the sideline and asked the coaching staff to take a deeper look.

Johnson said he needs to come up with the ball in the future. He also knows he can’t let the outcome of one game affect his effort level on the next.

“One game is going to get to you,” said Johnson, who missed a month with a hamstring injury and has 30 catches for 385 yards this season. “But it’s up to us to keep playing and not think about the previous play.”

Johnson called standing up for the team and admitting the mistake “the right thing to do” and believes they understand the order doesn’t define him as a player.

“I didn’t set out to play football this way,” Johnson said. “Obviously it looks bad on film, but from now on we just have to be smart.”

Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said Johnson needed to better manage his emotions

“They didn’t really say anything,” Johnson said of how his teammates responded to his apology.

‘It’s more a matter of admitting what I did for the team on Sunday. Just let them know it won’t happen again.’

At least one of Johnson’s teammates appears to be treating it as a non-issue going forward.

“I know Tae and I know he’s not going to let it happen again,” center Mason Cole said.

“Diontae can’t let the emotions of the last down affect his next down, but I’m going to give him an opportunity to talk to you about that,” Tomlin said of the incident while speaking to reporters throughout the week.

‘I give him the opportunity to discuss that with his teammates. I’m not going to add any extra color. I think plays like this are best described and outlined by those involved, and less so by guys like me.”