A muffed kickoff by rookie Kaleb Johnson cost the Pittsburgh Steelers dearly, resulting in a 31-17 loss to the Seattle Seahawks in their Week 2 matchup.
Early in the fourth quarter, Seattle took a 17-14 lead on a 54-yard field goal by Jason Myers. Receiving the ensuing kickoff, Johnson let the ball bounce through his hands and into the end zone. However, the rookie apparently didn’t realize that’s a live ball under NFL rules.
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The Seahawks’ George Holani recovered the muffed kickoff for a touchdown.
The turnover gave Seattle a 24-14 lead with 12:46 remaining in the fourth quarter, swinging the score by 10 points with only six seconds running off the clock.
Pittsburgh rebounded to cut its deficit to 24-17 on the subsequent drive, finishing off a 9-play, 45-yard drive with a 54-yard by Chris Boswell. Yet the Seahawks restored their 14-point lead seven players later with Sam Darnold connecting on a 19-yard pass to AJ Barner, followed by a 43-yard catch by Jaxon Smith-Njgba. Darnold was sacked two plays later by Jack Sawyer, but Kenneth Walker III ran around the left end 19 yards on the next play for a score.
Up by two touchdowns with 3:41 remaining in the fourth quarter, the game was likely decided. However, that result became official when Aaron Rodgers was intercepted by Coby Bryant with 1:17 left and returned the turnover 28 yards.
Prior to Rodgers’ pick, the Steelers were moving in the wrong direction anyway. On the second play of the possession, Rodgers was sacked by Byron Murphy II. Two plays later, Calvin Austin III was flagged for illegal motion, giving Pittsburgh a 3rd-and-20 at its own 25-yard line.
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Just before the 2-minute warning, Rodgers hit Roman Wilson for a 7-yard gain and Austin for a 22-yard pass to give the Steelers a first down. Yet on the next play, Rodgers was penalized for intentional grounding and pushed Pittsburgh back to another 3rd-and-20. The Steelers got half of that yardage back on a 10-yard catch by Jonnu Smith. But Rodgers was picked off on the next play looking for Austin deep down the middle.
Rodgers finished with 203 yards passing, completing 18 of 33 throws with a TD and 2 INTs. Jaylen Warren taillied a combined 134 yards from scrimmage. For the Seahawks, Darnold hit on 22 of 33 passes for 295 yards with 2 TDs and 2 INTs. Walker rushed for 105 yards and a score on 13 carries, while Smith-Njgba notched 8 receptions for 103 yards. Both teams are now 1-1.