Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver James Washington said head coach Mike Tomlin and the coaching staff have addressed fellow receiver Chase Claypool's lapse during the final seconds of Thursday's (December 9) 36-28 loss to the Minnesota Vikings, but wouldn't provide specific details on what was said.
Claypool caught a crucial fourth down pass from Ben Roethlisberger to keep Pittsburgh's final drive alive and opted to celebrate by gesturing for a first down, rather than running the ball back to the line of scrimmage during the no-huddle offense.
"Coaches have talked to us about it, it's just kind of one of those common sense deals," Washington said while addressing reporters via the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review's Chris Adamski. "But, you know, when you're in a moment, I guess guys make mistakes and do things but, you know, yeah, it was a costly deal for us, but at the end of the day we're still a team and, you know, we're going to move forward from here and win this next [game]."
Claypool's gaffe came as the Steelers attempted to finish a late-game comeback after trailing 29-0 in the third quarter.
Pittsburgh outscored Minnesota 28-6 for the remaining 17:11, but fell short after Roethlisberger's pass to rookie tight end Pat Freiermuth -- who had scored a touchdown on the Steelers' previous possession -- was incomplete in the end zone.
Claypool, who enjoyed a breakout rookie campaign in 2020, has already faced scrutiny after suggesting that playing music during practice would make it "more fun and little more uptempo" as the Steelers faced a four-game losing streak last month.
"Claypool plays wideout, and I'll let him do that. I'll formulate the practice approach and I think that division of labor is probably appropriate," Tomlin said while addressing reporters on November 30.
Defensive captain Cam Heywardappeared on the DVE Morning Show last month and seemed to share his coach's reaction to Heyward's comments.
"I hope he was kidding because as soon as he said it I was literally about to rip the speaker out," Heyward said. "That is not what we need right now. It's X's & O's and its execution."
Host Mike Prisuta told Heyward he didn't believe Claypool was kidding, to which the All-Pro defensive end responded, "Well then he's gonna be in shock because there's not gonna be anything played during practice."
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