In response to President Trump's remarks that he'd love to see NFL owners fire players who take a knee during the national anthem, the Steelers decided to skip the anthem altogether, and instead remained in the locker room before their game against the Bears. Except that left tackle Alejandro Villanueva, a former Army Ranger who served in Afghanistan, was separated from his teammates and ended up on the field alone during the anthem, which became one of the biggest stories in a day full of them.
Villanueva later explained the hows and whys of what happened, telling reporters, "Unfortunately, I threw (my teammates) under the bus, unintentionally. I made Coach Tomlin look bad, and that is my fault and my fault only. I made my teammates look bad, and that is my fault."