There was one play from the Pittsburgh Steelers' Week 1 victory that fans would love to forget. A special teams blunder like no other, a botched field goal attempt that was so bad, it required an explanation from one Steelers coach postgame.
Speaking with reporters on Monday, Steelers special teams coordinator Danny Crossman revealed what really happened on the botched 62-yard field goal attempt, which actually gave the Atlanta Falcons great field position when it was all said and done.
“If you’re in it long enough, you see everything," Crossman said about the botched play. "So yeah, put that one in that bucket. Bad communication in a couple of ways between ourselves, the clock, so there was some different viewpoints on certain things. Fortunately,
Cam [Johnston] did a great job trying to keep a bad play from becoming a worse play, getting to the edge and throwing the incompletion, sadly taking a hit for it."
The play in question came during the second quarter with less than two minutes remaining in the half. Chris Boswell and the field goal unit were lining up for a 62-yard field goal attempt, but play clock confusion caused long snapper Christian Kuntz to snap the ball before the team was fully ready. This left Johnston, the punter and holder for Boswell, with the ball. He attempted to make the most of a bad situation and throw the ball away instead of putting Atlanta in potential field goal range.
Fans can check the play out for themselves down below, but be warned, it isn't pretty.
The Steelers botch the field goal attempt and turn the ball over on downs
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) September 13, 2026
📺: FOX pic.twitter.com/xXONLsOB9e
Growing pains are always expected when a new coaching staff takes over, but here's to hoping fans won't have to see another special teams botch like this for the remainder of the season.
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This article originally appeared on Steelers Wire: Steelers coach explains embarrassing Week 1 blunder
