PITTSBURGH -- George Holani saw the ball bouncing toward the Pittsburgh end zone, wondered why Steelers kick returner Kaleb Johnson turned his back on a live football, and kept right on running.
All the way to the first touchdown of the Seattle Seahawks special teamer and running back's NFL career, and maybe a bit of justice for his team.
Holani's heads-up recovery of a kickoff by Seattle teammate Jason Myers for a touchdown early in the fourth quarter gave the Seahawks a 10-point lead they never threatened to give away in a 31-17 victory over Pittsburgh on Sunday that was as complete as it was surprising.
Related Links
Seattle had just taken a three-point lead on a 54-yard field goal by Myers when his kickoff bounced in front of Johnson, a rookie running back now moonlighting as a kick returner. The ball hopped over Johnson's outstretched hands at about the Pittsburgh 5.
Johnson headed toward the sideline, thinking the play was over. It wasn't. Holani tracked the ball down just before it rolled across the end line for an unlikely score that put the Seahawks (1-1) up 24-14.
"Poor judgment by a young player," Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said.
And excellent judgement by another running back-turned-special teamer. The Seahawks reviewed that exact scenario on Friday night, in the unlikely event it might turn up in a game. The lesson stuck with Holani, who never broke stride as Johnson casually walked to the sideline.
"That guy thought it was going out of bounds and it didn't," said Holani, who scored 34 times during his college career at Boise State, all of them in more traditional ways. "It was a lucky roll and I made the best of it."
So did Seattle, which bounced back from a loss to San Francisco in its opener by outplaying the sloppy Steelers (1-1), who delivered a dud in Aaron Rodgers' home debut.
The four-time MVP completed 18 of 33 passes for 203 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions a week after a nearly flawless Steelers debut in a win over the New York Jets. DK Metcalf caught three passes for 20 yards, including a 2-yard touchdown, but was largely a non-factor against his former team.
"It's Week 2," Rodgers said. "It mean like, it's good for us. Last week, probably there was some people feeling pretty good because everybody outside the building was talking about how great we were on offense. ... That's the league. You can't ride the highs or the lows."
Copyright 2025 by The Associated Press