PITTSBURGH—George Holani could not have possibly envisioned that his first NFL touchdown would happen like it did.

It was a touchdown no one saw coming.

"One of the more interesting plays that I've seen in my career, but it was just great to see our guy George get into the end zone that way," quarterback Sam Darnold said.

"That was crazy," added safety Coby Bryant. "I'm not going to lie, I've never seen nothing like that. But first touchdown in the NFL, so I'm happy for him."

That most interesting, crazy play occurred early in the fourth quarter when the Steelers failed to field a short Jason Myers kickoff, which bounced over returner Kaleb Johnson and into the end zone. Johnson, seeming to not realize the ball was still live and had not rolled out of the end zone, didn't go after the ball, allowing Holani to fall on it just before sliding out of the end zone.

"I wouldn't have thought I'd score on kickoff, honestly, but I got my first touchdown on special teams, and it's a blessing," Holani said. "We go over situations in our special teams meeting every week. We see teams who always mess up, and we don't want to be that team out there that's looking not good."

Describing the play, Holani said, "I knew it was going to be a touchdown as long as I down the ball with possession. I had to run full speed to the end zone, then I had to stop and like cradle, get small and get in there and possess the ball. It was just a heads up play that we took advantage of."

The play was not just an unusual one, it was a very consequential one in Seattle's 31-17 win over the Steelers. Moments before that touchdown, the game was tied 14-14, then Myers kicked a field goal to give the Seahawks a three-point lead, setting up what looked at the time to be a close finish. But seconds later, Holani was falling on a loose ball in the end zone, and a game that had just been tied saw the Seahawks leading by 10.

"It was a heck of a play by George, understanding the situation, then staying in bounds and recovering it, which actually, (director of football analysis and special situations) Brian Eayrs talked about sideline recoveries yesterday, as a matter of fact, so Brian Eayrs deserves a lot of credit too. But George made a heck of a play."

Another key to the play was Myers' short kick, which Johnson was unable to field.

"It's tougher than it looks, because the landing zone, it's easy to kick it short of the landing zone, so if you're going to kick it low, you've got to be on your stuff, and he's on his stuff right now," Macdonald said.