Steelers' Diontae Johnson Believes Offense Lights A "Spark" When He's Playing Alongside George Pickens

To the surprise of many, the Pittsburgh Steelers are heading into their three-game home stand with a record of 4-2. Despite a lack of offense throughout the beginning of the season, the return of star wide receiver Diontae Johnson opens new opportunities for the Steelers offense to once again try to find life. Following Johnson's first game back since Week 1, Johnson believes it was the "A" players who turned the game around and led the Steelers to a win against the Los Angeles Rams. 

Johnson spoke to the media on Thursday prior to the Steelers walkthrough. It was then Johnson was asked how big of an impact he believed himself and fellow star receiver George Pickens has on the offense when they're both playing. Johnson would go on to explain how he believes him and Pickens feed off of one another which pushes them to be even better. 

“We play off one another. Like I always say, 'He make a play, I make a play.' It’s like our little thing.”

As the box score would tell, Johnson was telling nothing but the truth. As Johnson would rack up 79 yards on five receptions, alongside Pickens who would have his second game in a row over 100 yards receiving (107 yards). Johnson would extend his praise to the whole Steelers offense then, explaining how him and Pickens making plays allowed the whole offense to open up. 

“Once both of us are making plays, then everybody else starts making plays. You saw the offense got that spark we need.”

Following once again another slow start, the offense would indeed open up in the second half. It looked as if someone flipped a switch. The Steelers offense, who went into the Rams game not having one rushing touchdown, would score three rushing touchdowns in just the second half. With the Steelers offense finally having Johnson back in the lineup, hopefully we see more versatility within the offense moving forward in the 2023 NFL season. 

Steelers Week 7 Victory Led By "A" Players

One major play that turned around the Steelers Week 7 matchup against the Rams was TJ Watt's impressive interception on the opening drive of the second half. Watt would only have one tackle all game, but when the Steelers needed a big play the most, Watt was there to intercept Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford who seemingly didn't see Watt in coverage. 

This play would most likely change the outcome of the game entirely. Following the interception, the Steelers offense would have the ball in the red zone. The offense would be able to get it down to the one-yard line where quarterback Kenny Pickett would take it into the end zone himself with a QB sneak. 

The second half of the Steelers matchup vs the Rams is what would lead Johnson on Thursday to praise the "A" players. 

“Coach T [Mike Tomlin] always talks about being an ‘A’ player. You need those ‘A’ players to step up and that’s what those ‘A’ players did on Sunday. You saw those big plays that we needed to turn the game around and we did.”

We saw the "A" players seemingly take over the game on Sunday with rushing touchdowns by both Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren when we needed them the most. If the Steelers would like to continue to have success with their "A" players, they must find a way to get them involved earlier in games and not until the last quarter.

What does Steeler Nation think? Did the "A" players win the game for the Steelers on Sunday? Or did the return of Johnson allow the offense to have the ability to better disguise where the ball was going? Leave your thoughts down below in the comments!

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