The Pittsburgh Steelers were struggling to get anything going offensively Sunday in the first quarter against the Philadelphia Eagles. That’s what made it so significant when Mark Robinson forced a fumble on Cooper DeJean during a punt return to give the Steelers the ball in scoring range. A confusing sequence featuring a scuffle between the Steelers and Eagles backed the Steelers up and stalled out the drive.
Here is the scuffle from FOX Sports on X.
Normally you’d see offsetting penalties in that type of situation, but that was not the case here with two penalties called, both against the Steelers.
Mike Tomlin was asked what kind of explanation he got from the officials after that sequence during his press conference after the Steelers’ 27-13 loss.
“Not a sufficient one,” Tomlin said via the Steelers’ YouTube channel.
The scuffle started with Darnell Washington blocking Darius Slayton into next week. It was one of the nicest blocks you will ever see. It’s unclear what exactly happened from there, but it resulted in a scrum behind the end zone against the back wall with several players from each team.
Here is the block from The Sports Place’s Arye Pulli on X.
Tomlin was asked more specifically about that play and Washington’s role in it with his big block.
“I’ll let them explain that sequence,” Tomlin said in reference to the referees. “Why should I explain it?”
With a pool report to come, Tomlin deferred to their explanation. He doesn’t feel like he received a sufficient explanation, so how could he possibly explain it to the media?
The Steelers still managed to get their first points of the day with a field goal, but a touchdown would have helped change the dynamic of the game, especially with how the Steelers clawed their way back to within four points by halftime.
This scuffle came after a seven-yard run by Najee Harris. It was by far the biggest gain of the day to that point for the offense, but the positive play was negated by negativity. That was the story of the day for the offense. It was a lot of one step forward, two steps back.
These kinds of scrums almost always result in offsetting penalties, so it was a surprise when both were on the Steelers. One was thrown on Darnell Washington and one on Calvin Austin III. Tomlin clearly wasn’t happy with the outcome or the explanation of why it was officiated that way.
