Gerry Dulac: Kaleb Johnson isn't alone. Baffling gaffes are commonplace throughout Steelers and NFL history

Gerry Dulac, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Sep 20, 2025

Published in Football

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PITTSBURGH — Kaleb Johnson shouldn't feel too bad about his embarrassing gaffe in Sunday's loss to the Seattle Seahawks. Those types of moments have happened for years, especially with Steelers rookies.

They even happened with one of their Hall of Fame running backs.

The Steelers did not lose the game because of Johnson's gaffe — they were already trailing 17-14 and never scored another touchdown — but he did lose his job as kick returner. Nonetheless, the moment will define the early stages of his career, at least for now.

But he shouldn't feel all alone. It's happened to others.

In 2000, rookie receiver Plaxico Burress caught a 19-yard pass against the Jacksonville Jaguars and, without being touched, got up and inexplicably spiked the ball on the Alltel Stadium turf. Jaguars linebacker Danny Clark picked up the live ball and ran 44 yards to the Steelers' 27.

Fortunately, the Steelers stopped the Jaguars on downs to preserve a 24-13 victory, but the incident has been replayed over the years as one of the NFL's all-time bonehead plays.

In a 1990 game in San Francisco, rookie running back Barry Foster watched a kickoff roll on the ground as though it were a punt, allowing the 49ers to recover on the 5-yard line. Three plays later, the 49ers converted the gaffe into a touchdown, giving them a 20-7 lead en route to a 27-7 victory.

But one of the more unexplainable moments in Steelers history came in 1970 in a Monday night game in Kansas City, when rookie receiver Dave Smith, who played at IUP, started celebrating a would-be touchdown catch around the 5-yard line. Smith was holding the ball in his left hand, pumping his outstretched arm over his head, when he lost control of the ball.

The ball rolled out of the end zone, resulting in a touchback, maybe the most ignominious moment of a season in which the Steelers finished 5-9.

Like Johnson's, those were all embarrassing gaffes committed by rookies.

But that wasn't the case on a Thanksgiving Day game in Detroit in 1998, when Jerome Bettis, one of their Hall of Fame running backs, committed a memorable gaffe during the overtime coin flip that is still replayed on just about every November holiday broadcast.

As the visiting team, the Steelers got to make the call for the coin toss, both before the game and, in this instance, overtime. Back then, the team captain made the call during the coin flip, not before the coin flip. That rule was eventually changed because of what happened.

When referee Phil Luckett tossed the coin, Bettis started to say the word "heads" but quickly changed his call to "tails." The coin came up tails, but Luckett heard Bettis start to say "heads" and awarded the Lions the ball.

The Lions took the kickoff and marched down the field for a 42-yard field goal by Jason Hanson and a 19-16 victory. That started a five-game losing streak to end the season for the Steelers, who finished 7-9.

"I mean, we've all had our moments, right?" running back Jaylen Warren said. "You can't live like that, though. You can't have a burden over yourself or walk around with a cloud over you. I know he's going to take it and grow from it."

The NFL has been littered with embarrassing moments over the years.

Former Minnesota Vikings defensive end Jim Marshall once ran 66 yards with a 49ers fumble for an apparent touchdown in 1964, not knowing he ran the wrong way. The Vikings were credited with a safety and won anyway despite the gaffe, 27-22.

In the final seconds of the 2002 season opener against the Chiefs, Cleveland Browns linebacker Dwayne Rudd took off his helmet off and threw it in celebration, thinking he had sacked quarterback Trent Green to end the game. Unbeknownst to Rudd, Green tossed a lateral to tackle John Tate as he was going to the ground, keeping the play alive. Even though time expired after Tate ran 28 yards to the Browns 25, Rudd was penalized 15 yards for unsportsmanlike conduct for removing his helmet in the field of play.

Because a game cannot end on a defensive penalty, the Chiefs were given an untimed down and Morten Andersen, in his first game with his new team, kicked a 30-yard field goal for a wild 40-39 victory.

Philadelphia Eagles receiver DeSean Jackson dropped the ball in celebration before he crossed the goal line on his way to a 41-yard touchdown against the Dallas Cowboys in 2008. The Cowboys challenged the ruling of touchdown on the field, but the ball was placed at the 1-yard line because nobody ever recovered the ball before the whistle. The Eagles scored on the next play anyway.

Leon Lett was a three-time Super Bowl winner and two-time Pro Bowl defensive lineman with the Cowboys, but he seems to best be remembered for hot-dogging a fumble return for an apparent touchdown in Super Bowl XXVII against the Buffalo Bills.

As he neared the goal line, Lett began slowing down and holding the ball away from his body with his right hand when receiver Don Beebe came from behind and swatted the ball from his grasp. The ball went through the end zone for a touchback.

History has shown Kaleb Johnson is not alone.