Throughout his storied tenure with the Pittsburgh Steelers, head coach Mike Tomlin has been known a time or two to truly live in his fears despite believing he lives by the opposite of that saying.
He’s punted the football in big spots, rather than be aggressive offensively. He did that again on Saturday in the Week 15 loss to the Indianapolis Colts.
Facing a 4th and 14 late in the third quarter from the Indianapolis 39-yard line, Tomlin decided to call on punter Pressley Harvin III rather than standout kicker Chris Boswell for a 57-yard field goal attempt indoors.
Trailing 24-13 at the time, Boswell’s field goal would have cut the Colts’ lead to one score. Instead, Tomlin waved the white flag. It led to a woeful 22-yard punt from Harvin, and then the Colts marched right down the field and kicked another field goal, putting the game away.
Tomlin’s decision to punt in that situation was cowardly and was also named the worst coaching decision of the week by The Athletic’s Ted Nguyen.
“With 3:25 remaining in the third quarter, the Steelers were down by [11] points. They drove the ball to the Colts’ 29-yard line but committed a holding penalty to back them up to the 39, putting them in a 3rd-and-14 situation. Mitchell Trubisky tried to throw a deep pass that fell incomplete,” Nguyen writes regarding what led to Tomlin’s decision. “Instead of letting kicker Chris Boswell attempt a 57-yard field goal in a dome, the Steelers punted the ball, which netted 22 yards. Last week, Boswell nailed a 56-yard field goal outdoors in Pittsburgh, so he certainly has the range.
“I don’t understand the decision to forgo the chance to cut the lead to one possession.”
Nobody understands the decision to forgo the chance to make it a one-score game. Nobody except Mike Tomlin.
After the game, Tomlin stated that he didn’t like the field positioning at that point, especially after not much had gone right for the Steelers up until that point.
The holding call against left tackle Dan Moore Jr. was critical, though it was nothing egregious compared to what T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith deal with seemingly every snap. But it was called, and it pushed the Steelers into a 3rd and 14. Then, what happened on third down was the deciding factor for Tomlin.
“Not a lot had gone in our way at that juncture that made me feel good about banging a 57-yard field goal,” Tomlin said via the team’s website after the loss regarding the decision to punt. “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.”
On the third down, instead of taking a checkdown to try and pick up some yards and improve field positioning for a Boswell field goal try, Trubisky threw the football out of bounds, not giving anyone on the offense a chance to make a play.
Though Boswell trotted out onto the field initially, he was recalled for Harvin and the Steelers punted the football. It was the ultimate white flag from Tomlin and was the cherry on top of a myriad of issues the Steelers are dealing with currently during their three-game losing streak.
It was seemingly a little disrespectful to Boswell, too. Just a week ago, Tomlin and the Steelers called upon Boswell at Acrisure Stadium in primetime to hit a 56-yard field goal in a 7-0 game that the Steelers trailed. He drilled it.
But in a game that the Steelers were trailing by 11 points and needing points, you don’t call on your Pro Bowl and All-Pro kicker from 57 yards — and indoors? It makes no sense, no matter how Tomlin tries to spin it. He lived in his fears, period.
And it more than earned him the worst coaching decision of the week in the NFL.
