“We don’t live in our fears.”
That’s Mike Tomlin mantra. In practice, there’s been plenty of cowardly decisions. His decision to punt instead of attempting a 56-yard Chris Boswell field goal late in the third quarter that, if made, would’ve cut the Colts lead to eight, ranks as one of the league’s most cowardly moments of the year.
Per the Surrender Index Twitter account, which provides a statistical analysis of decisions to punt versus going for the field goal and other in-game choices, Tomlin’s decision is one of the most scared of the year. It ranked in the 98th percentile of “cowardly punts” this year and in the 95th percentile of all punts over the last 24 seasons.
In the moment, it seemed obvious Boswell was going to trot out for the attempt. He even took the field, presumably assuming the Steelers would try the field goal, a 56-yarder well within his range. And you could sense the frustration when Tomlin took him off the field for the punt team.
Asked after the game, Tomlin’s explanation to avoid putting Boswell on the field was dubious.
“Not a lot had gone in our way at that juncture that made me feel good about banging a 57-yard field goal,” Tomlin told reporters postgame. “Particularly on the down before I thought we might take a shot or check it down and we ended up throwing the ball out of bounds. And so I didn’t like that field positioning.”
What Mitch Trubisky’s incompletion to George Pickens has to do with Chris Boswell’s ability to kick a field goal is…unclear. But it’s apparently his decision. The move didn’t work. Pressley Harvin III’s punt travelled just 22 yards and the Colts needed just two plays to get those yards back. They ran the ball 13 straight plays, took nearly nine minutes off the clock, and kicked a field goal to take full control of the game.
There was a time where Tomlin was aggressive. Across the 2015 and 2016 seasons, the Steelers went for two more than virtually anyone else. Now, they play timid and scared. Maybe QB Ben Roethlisberger’s retirement had something to do with it, Tomlin no longer believing in his offense to get the job done. He’s not necessarily wrong about that, though he also bears responsibility for it. At this point, it’s hard to point to what there is to believe in.
If there was something, it would be Boswell, the most successful 50-plus yard kicker in team history. With a chance to cut the lead to eight inside a closed roof with a guy like him, leaving him on the sideline for a replaceable punter just highlights how ugly Saturday night was.
