Pittsburgh Steelers QB Mitch Trubisky is feeling the heat for his 4th and 2 decision to throw deep down the left sideline, looking for the home run ball to WR Diontae Johnson. A pass that fell incomplete and essentially ended any hopes the Steelers had of coming back and at least tying the New England Patriots.
Internally, the team has defended Trubisky with Mike Tomlin comparing it to Kenny Pickett’s go-ball touchdown to WR George Pickens to beat the Baltimore Ravens in Week Five. Externally, you won’t find many who back that play. But you will in former Steelers’ QB Ben Roethlisberger.
On the latest episode of his Footbahlin podcast, Roethlisberger says he would’ve made the same decision as Trubisky.
“I would throw it,” Roethlisberger told co-host Spence in Monday’s episode. “If I had one-on-one with Diontae, I’d throw it. I just would’ve gave him a chance to catch it. I don’t hate it.”
After the loss, Trubisky said he was looking to make a big play downfield. Had the pass been caught, it would’ve gotten the Steelers, trialing 21-18, into field goal range to at least tie the game. But with the incompletion, the Patriots took the ball over on downs. They punted away, but the Steelers had only seconds to try and pull off a miracle and, predictably, fell short.
Taking another look at the play, Trubisky’s read was having Johnson in man-to-man coverage against a single high safety. In other words, one-on-one coverage like Roethlisberger spoke to. A matchup aggressive quarterbacks like Trubisky want to attack.
But the risk of an incompletion outweighed the reward of Johnson catching the ball. Even if Johnson did, there’s no guarantee the Steelers win the game right there. It’s just as possible they settle for a field goal and simply tie the game. Worse yet, it seems like Trubisky made a predetermined read to go there, passing up the underneath throw to WR Allen Robinson, who was running underneath TE Pat Freiermuth, for a much more likely completion. That was likely the intent of the play, and Trubisky passed it up for the downfield option.
If Roethlisberger has any critique of the play, it should’ve come a down earlier.
“I know what you’re trying to do. I think you gotta do it on third down. But on fourth down, you got one-on-one. Taking a shot. You’re giving one of your best players a chance.”
Coming into the week, Trubisky discussed his desire to be aggressive and put points on the board. He stayed true to his words. There’s no question the Steelers need points, but his decision-making is costing the team potential points and making winning harder. Cemented as the starter for Saturday’s game against the Indianapolis Colts, Trubisky will have to find a better middle ground.
Listen to the whole episode below.
