Wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster continued to take the blame Monday for a costly loss by the Pittsburgh Steelers, saying on Twitter that he “let everyone down” after a fourth-quarter fumble.
After the New Orleans Saints scored the go-ahead touchdown for a 31-28 lead with 1:25 remaining, the Steelers were driving into field goal range when Smith-Schuster fumbled at the New Orleans 34.
“It’s tough to go out like that,” Smith-Schuster said after the game. “I got tackled, I fumbled, game over. I was just trying to get down. They made a good play.”
Smith-Schuster, 22, continued to be critical of himself Monday, even after a game in which he had 11 catches for 115 yards — becoming the youngest NFL player ever to reach 100 receptions in a season, according to ESPN Stats & Information.
When I’m at my lowest, I’m not going to hide. I’m sorry. That loss was on me. I let everyone down, it won’t happen again. pic.twitter.com/amLOGJxino
— JuJu Smith-Schuster (@TeamJuJu) December 24, 2018
With the loss, the Steelers dropped out of first place in the AFC North for the first time since October. To win the division title, Pittsburgh (8-6-1) needs to beat Cincinnati next Sunday and have Baltimore (9-6) lose at home to Cleveland.
If that doesn’t happen, the Steelers would need the unlikely scenario of an Indianapolis-Tennessee tie to earn a wild card.
“All we have is a chance,” Cam Heyward said. “We just have to go play Cincinnati this week and get a win. You never know what can happen.”
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler and The Associated Press contributed to this report.