Steelers' Diontae Johnson 'owns up' to his bizarre fumble miss in win over the Bengals after being accused of lacking effort... despite claiming he 'didn't see it' on the day: 'It won't happen again'

Pittsburgh Steelers star Diontae Johnson has taken responsibility for his viral missed fumble after being accused of lacking effort in their 16-10 win over the Cincinnati Bengals.

Johnson had been angered on the play before the fumble when he appeared to catch a touchdown, only for the pass to be ruled incomplete after officials ruled he did not survive the ground to complete the catch.

On the following play, the wide receiver essentially stood still and failed to block anyone at all as if he were participating in a walk-through, while also missing a fumble that came in his direction.

After the game, Johnson initially claimed he 'didn't see' the fumble and that it was by no means a reflection of his lack of enthusiasm. 

However, three days later he has 'owned up' to the mistake and stressed that it won't happen again.

'I addressed the situation to my teammates,' Johnson said. 'They know how I feel and how I should go about the situation the next time it occurs. I own up to it. I'm not perfect. All I can do is move forward and keep playing football.' 

Jaylen Warren fumbled the ball in Johnson's vicinity while being tackled and the WR turned his back to walk towards the huddle as Cincinnati cornerback DJ Turner scooped up the ball and ran 25 yards downfield before being tackled.

When he was initially asked about the play Johnson had told reporters: 'I didn't see it. 'I was just doing my job blocking or whatever it is.' 

Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin opted not to challenge the previous play due in part to how emphatically the back judge made the call. While Johnson gestured to the referees, he also didn't turn to the sideline and ask the coaching staff to take a deeper look.

Johnson said he needs to come down with the ball in the future. He also knows he can't let the outcome of one play bleed over into his effort level on the next.

'A play is going to get to you,' said Johnson, who missed a month because of a hamstring injury and has 30 catches for 385 yards on the season. 'But it's up to us to keep playing and not think about the previous play.'

Johnson called standing up in front of the team and owning the mistake 'the right thing to do' and believes they understand the sequence doesn't define him as a player.

'I didn't come up playing football like that,' Johnson said. 'Obviously it looks bad on film but from here on out, going forward, just need to be smart.'

'They didn't say nothing really,' Johnson said regarding how his teammates reacted to his apology.

'More of just me owning up to what I did on Sunday to the team. Just letting them know it won't happen again.'

At least one of Johnson's teammates seems to consider it a non-issue going forward.

'I know `Tae and I know he won´t let it happen again,' center Mason Cole said.

'Diontae can't let the emotions of the previous down affect his next down, but I'll give him an opportunity to address that with you guys,' Tomlin said of the incident while speaking to reporters during the week.

'I'll give him an opportunity to address that with his teammates. I'm not going to add any additional color. I think plays like that are best described and outlined by those involved and less so by guys like me.'