Diontae Johnson Blasts Refs After Steelers Loss

Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Diontae Johnson said the referees wanted Jacksonville to win.

PITTSBURGH -- Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Diontae Johnson was fuming after his team lost 20-10 to the Jacksonville Jaguars at Acrisure Stadium in Week 8. 

Johnson was particularly unhappy with the officiating, claiming that there was a clear anti-Steelers bias that cost his team the game. He was asked specifically about the offsides call that backed up a potentially game-tying field goal attempt before halftime and the use of roughing the passer calls, but said he saw a pattern throughout the game. 

“They were calling stupid stuff. They should get fined for calling terrible stuff," Johnson said. "That’s how pissed I am. I don’t care what anyone says, it cost us the game. Yeah, I got to make plays. I had two plays I should have made but that doesn’t define the whole game.”

Johnson said the penalty on the field goal was particularly back-breaking. Issac Seumalo was ruled offsides, which turned a 55-yard attempt for Chris Boswell into a 61-yard attempt that he missed. A make would have brought the Steelers within three points at intermission. 

Assuming the game plays out the same way after halftime, the Steelers would have had a chance to tie the game on their last possession of the game, but were down two scores instead. 

"That field goal coming into the half, we needed that," Johnson said. "They got the ball back, we might have gotten the ball back at the end of the game. Who knows? That field goal hurt us.”

Once Johnson aired his complaints to the media in the locker room, he said he would follow head coach Mike Tomlin's advice and move on with a midweek game against the Tennessee Titans looming in just a few days, but he will hold onto his assertion that the referees didn't treat Pittsburgh fairly this week. 

“They wanted them to win because everything was in their favor," Johnson said. "They were getting every little call. But it is what it is. … I’m moving on from it. I’m ready for Thursday.”

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