2 min read • September 20, 2021
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Diontae Johnson, the Steelers' No. 1 wide receiver, was injured on the last play of the game against the Raiders with the contest well out of reach at 26-17. Johnson caught a pass in the flat, then turned up field down the right sideline was tackled by raiders safety Jonathan Abraham. He was seeing holding his right knee on the ground and was helped off the field. The only video available through the TV broadcast and Game Pass is video from the far side long sideline, where his right knee was shielded at the point of contact when tackled by Abrams. There is a lot of Internet speculation about ACL/MCL and other knee pathology. We have evaluated the video, but we try to provide informed insider knowledge and analysis rather than speculation. As such, we don't have much to go on when we don't see clear video of the injured body part and thus have remained silent. We are hopeful of no long term injury. When you go to a doctor, they never take just one X-ray, they take one from the front, the side or at an another angle to get all the appropriate views to make a decision. This is why we need more than one angle on replay. We apologize that we cannot make a firm conclusion here, but we hope our readers and followers, understand that we want to keep the highest rate of reliability, rather than making guesses. Johnson also left the game in the first quarter of Week 2 after making a 9-yard catch. However, the third-year wide receiver only missed two run plays, then finished the game. He also had a 41-yard catch on the next drive. By video, the 25-year-old former University of Toledo wideout receiver banged knees with a defender and walked off gingerly in the first quarter of the Week 1 game against the Bills. However, he missed only three plays and returned on the next drive, collecting 3 more catches for 16 yards after the injury. Ben Roethlisberger complimented Johnson on his toughness before the team's Week 2 matchup with the Raiders. Johnson wasn't on the Steelers' injury report this week. We reviewed game footage of both of these plays, but we do not think those plays were related to the injury he suffered at the end of the game this Sunday.
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