Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster scored an 18-yard touchdown in the first quarter of a Week 5 game against Atlanta on Sunday. That’s not the part of the play that folks will be talking about this week.
To celebrate, Smith-Schuster mimed the act a woman giving birth in the end zone, with the ball playing the role of the newborn. Running back James Conner delivered the “baby.”
Congrats to JuJu Smith-Schuster on giving birth……. to a football.pic.twitter.com/dvao0CGp4T
— NFL Update (@MySportsUpdate) October 7, 2018
Steelers wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster cradles the football as a baby after scoring a touchdown against the Falcons in the first quarter at Heinz Field. pic.twitter.com/19LQoayDhm
— Matt Freed (@mattfreedpghpg) October 7, 2018
The NFL overturned its rule against group celebrations ahead of the 2017 season, and it has been widely applauded as players came up with creative dances and coordinated ways to celebrate. But Smith-Schuster’s celebration Sunday was not the first of questionable integrity this year.
In Week 3, New York Jets running back Isaiah Crowell scored two touchdowns against his old team, the Cleveland Browns. He celebrated the second one by pretending to wipe his rear end with the football, which earned him the ire of his coach as well as an endorsement deal with a company called “Dude Wipes.”
• Adam Zielonka can be reached at azielonka@washingtontimes.com.
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