Steelers WR Diontae Johnson claims he ‘didn’t see’ fumble that landed right in front of him in bizarre moment against Bengals… before playing down his locker-room spat with Minkah Fitzpatrick: ‘Don’t get it twisted’

Diontae Johnson insists he didn’t see the fumble that landed right in front of him during the Steelers’ win over the Bengals on Sunday, after drawing criticism for seemingly making no attempt to save the possession.

The Pittsburgh wide receiver bizarrely appeared absent-minded when his team fumbled the ball late in the first quarter of their game against Cincinnati.

When running back Jaylen Warren bumped into a wall of orange jerseys after attempting a running play, Johnson simply watched as the ball hit the turf and turned around as if the play was over. 

While other Steelers stars chased after Turner, his urgency remained non-existent. He then made no effort to help his team stop the return as Turner ran to Cincinnati’s 40-yard line. 

The 27-year-old’s apparent lack of enthusiasm sparked controversy, but after Pittsburgh’s 16-10 victory Johnson claimed he missed the fumble and did not leave it intentionally.

‘I didn’t see it,’ he told reporters. ‘I was just doing my job blocking or whatever it is.’

Days after firing offensive coordinator Matt Canada, the Steelers showed new life on offense as Kenny Pickett threw for a season-high 278 yards to help them outlast the Joe Burrow-less Bengals.

In their first game since Canada’s dismissal – the franchise’s first in-season coordinator or head coach change since 1941 – Pittsburgh (7-4) totaled 421 yards, snapping a streak of 58 games without gaining 400 yards.

Johnson was in the headlines going into Sunday’s game against the Bengals following reports that he had a heated locker-room bust-up with Steelers teammate Minkah Fitzpatrick after last week’s loss to the Cleveland Browns.

ESPN claimed he and Fitzpatrick had to be separated by teammates after the 13-10 defeat by their AFC North division rival, with star defenders TJ Watt and Cameron Heyward intervening as tempers flared in Cleveland.

Steelers duo Diontae Johnson (left) and Minkah Fitzpatrick got into a ‘heated’ argument after their defeat by the Browns

‘It really ain’t nothing,’ Johnson said when asked about the story. ‘That’s my brothers at the end of the day. 

‘Players, we gonna be players. We’re passionate about the game and everybody wants to win. You can’t look at it as we had an all-out brawl or whatever. It ain’t that, so don’t get it twisted. 

‘Players, everybody’s doing it on each and every team, talking junk to each other. We squashed it, we won the game today. That’s all that matters.’