Claypool admits celebration mistake but says teammate lost Steelers time
Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Chase Claypool drew the ire of fans when he celebrated a fourth-down catch with his team driving to tie the game in the final minute of Thursday's matchup with the Minnesota Vikings.
Claypool made a first-down signal while kneeling despite the Steelers needing to spike the ball with no timeouts and just over 30 seconds remaining. Teammate Trai Turner ran to Claypool but inadvertently knocked the football away while attempting to rush the receiver back to the line of scrimmage, costing Pittsburgh precious seconds.
The Steelers finished the game with a missed end-zone shot to tight end Pat Freiermuth four plays later. They likely would've had time for one more attempt if not for the error from Claypool, who was also benched in the first quarter after a personal foul.
While Claypool acknowledged he let his team down against the Vikings, he also seemed to blame Turner for wasting time.
"Definitely, I've got to be better," Claypool said, according to Joe Rutter of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
"I got tackled near the hash, did my little first-down point, went to hand the ball to the ref," Claypool added. "He just got there. Even if I got right up and looked for him, he wasn't there. He ran down the field to come get the ball. The ball got knocked out of my hands. That is what cost us time. But I definitely do have to be better. I knew the situation."
Chase Claypool made some big grabs tonight, but the situational awareness here is so bad. Pittsburgh had no timeouts left. Claypool makes the catch, decides to celebrate, an offensive lineman tries to get the ball but it rolls away. Clock ticks, ticks...pic.twitter.com/w3IBaQacjV
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) December 10, 2021
Claypool, otherwise, enjoyed a strong game against Minnesota, catching eight of 9 targets for 93 yards.
While the young wideout continues to flash Pro Bowl potential, head coach Mike Tomlin was noncommittal when asked if Claypool can learn from his mental mistakes.
"We'll see," Tomlin said postgame.
The Steelers dropped to 6-6-1 with the prime-time defeat.