A pair of curious Pittsburgh Steelers special teams decisions late in their 24-21 win over the Minnesota Vikings Sunday in Ireland actually have some simple explanations.
Punting the ball through the end zone while holding a three-point lead late in the game near midfield was by design. Calling a timeout before an onside kick was also by design, according to special teams coordinator Danny Smith.
Speaking with reporters Tuesday, Smith said the decision to kick the ball out of the back of the end zone on the punt was to eliminate any chance at a return, while the timeout called was because Vikings kicker Will Reichart had never attempted an onside kick, even dating back to college.
Longtime Steelers reporter Mark Kaboly tweeted Smith’s comments moments ago.
“I’m not worried about his net putting at that time. I’m worried about winning the game,” Smith said of the decision to have Waitman punt the ball out of the end zone, according to audio provided by the team. “I’m about winning a football game. Why you gonna put the ball in play with 12 seconds left of the game? Makes no sense. A minute, they got a returner back there? Uh-uh.
“We’re gonna win the game They got one timeout, start at the 20? Win the game. I ain’t worried about his net punt at that time.”
Facing a 4th and 1 at the Minnesota 40-yard line, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin elected to punt with Corliss Waitman. Though the decision to not go for it was confusing — the Steelers had been running the ball very well all game — watching Waitman then miss an opportunity to pin the Vikings deep was even more puzzling.
Waitman, who had already downed five punts inside the opponent’s 20-yard line on the season, seemed to be in a position to do just that late Sunday in Dublin. Instead, Smith and the Steelers had Waitman kick it through the end zone for the touchback, giving the Vikings the ball at the 20-yard line.
Here’s a look at that punt.
Initially, it seemed like Waitman just botched the opportunity. But he did exactly what was asked of him. Ultimately it worked as the Vikings turned the ball over on downs after a 4th-and-13 pass from quarterback Carson Wentz was batted down by safety DeShon Elliott, but the end of the game wasn’t without some harrowing moments.Â
There was also the decision prior to the punt on the onside kick attempt from the Vikings in which the Steelers saw the look the Vikings were giving and then called a quick timeout. It was a bit confusing to burn a timeout in that moment, but for Smith, there was nothing to go off of with Reichard regarding onside kicks even back in college.
“This kid had no onside kicks in his career. None. Played four games in international football, had three games in the National Football League. This kid was a kicker at Alabama. How many times they onside kick?” Smith said of the decision to take a timeout before the onside kick. “I watch all the tape, everybody, everything. I’ll tell you every number of onside kicks everybody has that we play, what his percentages are, where he is going with the ball, what his movement is. Everything. We had nothing on this kid. So it’s very smart.
“Mike Tomlin suggested we take a timeout. It was a great move on the head coach’s part. We took a time out, took a look. We got the exact same kick after ’cause the kid is inexperienced and we were able to recover.”
So, they wanted to called timeout and see if the Vikings kicker would change anything. He didn’t, and it led to an easy Roman Wilson recovery, which gave the Steelers the ball in plus territory.
Ultimately it all worked out for the Steelers, and it’s good to get an explanation of things after the fact from a guy like Smith, who doesn’t talk to the media much — if at all — during the season.
