Instead of asking for a miracle moment from the Pittsburgh Steelers’ offense, their defense had a chance to close out a primetime win over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday night that bled into Monday morning. Facing 4th and goal from the Steelers’ 4-yard line, Mike Tomlin used his third and final timeout as Dallas came to the line of scrimmage. Despite the Steelers getting a look at the Cowboys’ plan, QB Dak Prescott hit WR Jalen Tolbert for a game-winning touchdown with 20 seconds left.
Without timeouts and only 15 seconds left, the Steelers could do little on their final offensive possession. A downfield heave that was nearly picked followed by a backyard lateral that ended in a turnover. Following the loss, Mike Tomlin said he had no regrets about burning that final timeout.
“Just trying to win the game, man,” Tomlin said via Steelers.com, who carried out his post-game presser. “Wanted to gather some information, see the structure that they came out in, get ourselves in the right call. It was a fourth down play. No hesitation about that. We had an opportunity to win that game right there. Forget what comes after. And so we took a timeout, we communicated, we got in a call that we liked. And they won the down.”
Despite all the miscues of this game, and as openly critical I was of Mike Tomlin’s performance last week, taking a timeout in that moment was agreeable. Dallas came out and got star WR CeeDee Lamb on rookie slot corner Beanie Bishop Jr., picked on throughout the night, and not an appetizing matchup for Pittsburgh. If the Steelers get the stop, they win the game, and that’s where Tomlin’s focus and energy was rightly placed. Even if Pittsburgh had kept its timeout and faced the same situation with 15 seconds left, their odds of tying the game are slim.
Asked again about the decision, Tomlin doubled down and said the “game was right there” of the Steelers’ chance to win.
However, Pittsburgh’s overall timeout usage was costly. The Steelers used a timeout to get into a better 4th down look mid-way through the fourth quarter and did well to convert it on an eventual touchdown drive. They used their second timeout after having 12 men on the field, a result of chaos adjusting to losing two outside linebackers. And their third came ahead of that fourth down play. While it’s hard to disagree with the calls in the moments, the Steelers were reactive and struggled to stay a step ahead of the Cowboys, also needing to look and respond on both sides of the ball.
And so Dallas was able to run the clock down, score late, and win the game. Now, both teams are 3-2.
