Plays of the Year: Diontae Johnson’s 85-yard punt return for a touchdown

Steel City Underground presents “Plays of the Year” featuring the tops runs, catches, hits and everything else in-between from the Pittsburgh Steelers 2019 season.

One week after being heavily criticized for giving up on a route where Devlin Hodges was intercepted, Diontae Johnson bounced back in a big way: so big, that the rookie wide receiver escalated his name from a “player with potential” to “playmaker”.

One of those plays occurred early in a Sunday afternoon game in Week 14 between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Arizona Cardinals. Up by three points following an eight-minute offensive drive, the Steelers defense forced a three-and-out on the Cardinals second possession, forcing Arizona to punt.

Cardinals punter Andy Lee blasted the football on a 60-yard boot, which saw the Steelers’ Johnson receive the ball on his own 15-yard line… and then make a go of it!

Johnson would make the two Cardinals gunners pay for going too deep, and then make other Arizona players spill all over the field with missed tackles, before finding a convoy of his own teammates wearing white paving the path all the way to the endzone for an 85-yard punt return for a touchdown.

The Steelers would go up 10-0, and retain their lead for the remainder of the game, winning by a final tally of 23-17.