It was a big milestone for Seattle Seahawks rookie George Holani on his budding NFL career on Sunday. He registered his first professional touchdown at perhaps the most pivotal point of the game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. The touchdown on a special teams play was the beginning of Seattle’s comeback. Doing so helped showcase Holani’s growing importance on the team’s depth chart.
Holani took advantage of his opportunity on Saturday as he fielded a kickoff in the end zone. It had merely deflected off of Steelers defender Kaleb Johnson. Instinctively, Holani dove on the loose ball, stopping it from rolling out of bounds. His immediate reaction prevented an otherwise certain touchdown and extended Seattle’s lead to 24-14. This play highlighted Holani’s awareness and quick thinking and represented the Seahawks’ first recovery of their own kickoff for a touchdown since November 29, 1981.
Holani came to the Seahawks as an undrafted free agent following his career at Boise State in 2024. His goal was significant not just for what it meant immediately, which was breaking the game open in Seattle’s favor. After the game, he expressed his excitement over the play, stating, “I never expected it to be on special teams. It’s a blessing, for sure.”
The kickoff recovery was not without controversy. Kaleb Johnson completely misread the catch and allowed the ball to bounce over his head. Instead, it rolled directly into the end zone. After the game, Steelers’ head coach Mike Tomlin emphasized the blunder. He termed it as “poor judgment by a young player.” Johnson no-commented on whether he was aware of the kickoff return policy. He understood that there is still a lot of room for improvement.
“Got to stick to it, move on, and just continue to get better every day.” – Kaleb Johnson
Even with this heart-wrenching setback, Johnson’s teammates circled the wagons and rallied around him. Teammate Miles Killebrew underscored the need to have each other’s backs when mistakes were made, underscoring and building on a team-first, next play attitude. From what I know, he’s going to be hardest on himself,” Killebrew said. “We just have to make sure that everyone knows that as a unit, we got each other’s backs, and we believe in him.”
Holani’s touchdown is as big as they come. It showed off his tremendous upside. On the one hand, that was a fitting sendoff — it underscored how important special teams are in deciding games. Here’s what Tomlin had to say after the game. As Reed noted, “Last week, we were in a tight ball game, and our special teams made a huge play that shifted the momentum to us. This week, we’re in a close ball game, and the special teams play broke it open in our opponent’s favor.”
Holani’s former teammate Coby Bryant was just as surprised by Holani’s historic decision as he was by the news itself. “That was wild, I’m not gonna lie,” he shared. “I’ve never seen nothing like that, but hey, first touchdown in the NFL, so I’m happy for him.”
Mike MacDonald stressed a point about knowing the game and playing the game the right way. He stated, “You have to talk rules, you have to know the rules of the game and play by them better than anybody else.” Such feelings permeated both locker rooms as players on both sides came to grips with just how high the stakes are in professional football.
Kenneth Walker III from Seattle helped seal the Seahawks’ win, rushing for a big TD score in the fourth quarter. His performance helped put the Seahawks out of reach. Perhaps most importantly, it energized their momentum as they continue making their play for repeating as champions this season.
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