When Ben Roethlisberger approached Diontae Johnson on the sideline late in the second half Sunday, he asked a question that caught the second-year wide receiver off guard.
“He was asking me if I really wanted to play or not,” said Johnson, who was benched for seven series after dropping two passes early in the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 26-15 loss at Buffalo. “I thought, yes, I really want to play and help this team win.”
Johnson didn’t help the Steelers pull out a victory, but he did catch all three of his second-half targets for 28 yards, a positive step considering all of the passes he hasn’t caught recently.
“I came out and made plays I knew I could make,” Johnson said about his second-half performance. “I felt like I was getting back to myself when the ball was coming my way.”
Johnson’s drops on the first two series against Buffalo increased his season total to 12, tops in the NFL. He was appreciative Roethlisberger took the time to find him on the sideline prior to halftime.
“It showed that he cares about me,” Johnson said. “Some players probably wouldn’t even do that. You see players go off to the side and handle it the same way that they know how to handle it. For him to give me a motivational speech to help me get my mind back, it felt good and got me going.”
Johnson, who leads the Steelers with 694 receiving yards and is second on the team with 69 receptions, admitted that the drops he made against Washington and Buffalo in back-to-back losses began weighing on his mind.
“Once you get drops, you get it in the back of your head like, ‘Catch it, catch it, catch it,’ and that’s all you’re thinking about,” he said. “You see the ball coming your way, and you’re thinking about it in the back of your mind.”
When the Steelers play the Cincinnati Bengals on Monday night, Johnson is expected to be back in the starting lineup. He said he spent the week of practice getting back to basics.
“It’s building repetition,” he said. “That translates to the game. I’ve been trying to go hard each and every snap. I’m trying to go hard and get that repetition, acting like it’s a game, trying to run and score each and every time I catch it.
“I feel like we’re going to be straight.”
Dotson ruled out
Rookie guard Kevin Dotson, who exited the game against Buffalo with a shoulder injury, did not practice Saturday and has been ruled out from playing Monday in Cincinnati. Dotson was in line to start after Matt Feiler sustained a pec injury in the same game and was placed on injured reserve.
With Dotson out, backup center J.C. Hassenauer likely will start at left guard for the Steelers.
Guard/tackle Derwin Gray, a former seventh-round draft pick, is on the 53-man roster. The Steelers could activate guard Danny Isidora, who remains in the covid-19 protocol after being signed from the Kansas City Chiefs practice squad earlier in the week.
Running back James Conner (quad) was limited in practice Saturday for the second day in a row and is listed as questionable to play against Cincinnati.
Benny Snell would start if Conner is inactive.
Bengals turn to Finley
With No. 1 overall draft pick Joe Burrow out for the season, the Bengals already were down to their backup quarterback in Brandon Allen. Now, they’ll trot out a familiar face in Ryan Finley to start against the Steelers.
Finley was announced as the starter Saturday because of a knee injury to Allen, who started the past three games but was hurt in the fourth quarter of a 30-7 loss to Dallas.
Finley started three games for the Bengals last year, his final one coming in November against the Steelers, who rallied for a 16-10 victory in the second half.
Finley was 12 of 26 for 192 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions. The Bengals turned back to starter Andy Dalton the following week.
This year, Finley has appeared in four games, completing 10 of 19 passes for 75 yards, no touchdowns, two interceptions and a meager 22.8 passer rating.
Joe Rutter is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Joe by email at jrutter@triblive.com or via Twitter .
Categories: Sports | Steelers/NFL
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