Steelers' Diontae Johnson makes shocking claim about Cardinals loss

Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Diontae Johnson suggested on Tuesday that the club looked past the lowly Arizona Cardinals ahead of Sunday's game at Acrisure Stadium that Arizona won 24-10 to improve to 3-10 on the season. 

"I don’t know, I felt like that the whole week — once we got out there, I just felt like something was different," Johnson explained while speaking with reporters, as shared by Myles Simmons of Pro Football Talk. "We [weren’t] at our best and whatnot. But I feel like we just took them [more] lightly than we should have."

While the then-7-4 Steelers entered the weekend as betting favorites to take care of business at home, Pittsburgh lost starting quarterback Kenny Pickett late in the first half to an ankle injury that reportedly could cost him an additional two to four games. The Arizona-Pittsburgh matchup was also twice delayed due to inclement weather.

Despite the disappointing result, 7-5 Pittsburgh ended Week 13 holding the No. 5 seed for the AFC bracket of the postseason tournament. As of Tuesday afternoon, the ESPN Football Power Index gave the Steelers a 55.8% chance of making the playoffs. 

Johnson and company will have little time to lick their wounds, as the Steelers host a 2-10 New England Patriots side this Thursday night that may be the worst overall team in the league by the time Week 18 concludes. On Tuesday afternoon, oddschecker listed Pittsburgh as only a 4.5-point favorite against New England. 

Johnson seems to understand he and his teammates should ignore any predictions for Thursday's prime-time affair. 

"We can’t come in this Thursday with the same mindset," Johnson added during his comments. "We’re going to be fine. We’ve moved past it." 

Following Thursday's contest, the Steelers will play at the Indianapolis Colts on Dec. 16. 7-5 Indianapolis faces the 6-6 Cincinnati Bengals at Cincinnati's Paycor Stadium this coming Sunday.