Call it Schrodinger’s Flea Flicker. The Pittsburgh Steelers play that was apparently called and not called. Jaylen Warren flipped the ball back to an unsuspecting Aaron Rodgers, who promptly chucked the ball into the ground. But there’s differing viewpoints of what the play was supposed to be.
After the Steelers’ 33-31 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals Thursday night, Rodgers said a flea flicker wasn’t called. Mike Tomlin, however, said it was.
“I asked Tomlin about it after game and Tomlin said yes, it was a called flea flicker. And then Rogers contradicted that,” Fittipaldo told 93.7 The Fan’s Joe Starkey and Bob Pompeani Friday morning.
Post-game, it was difficult for us to hear Fittpaldo’s question and whether or not he was asking if the play was called correctly or on accident. Tomlin only responded “yes,” making it hard to know what he was affirming. But Fittipaldo’s comments clarify his question, though it adds plenty of confusion as to what actually happened on the field.
“That wasn’t supposed to be a flea flicker,” Rodgers told the media post-game. “We weren’t on the same page.”
Here’s a look at the play.
Clearly, Rodgers wasn’t anticipating the ball coming back to him. Nor was anyone else. All the receivers appear to be run blocking on the play. Immediately after, Rodgers could be seen scolding Warren and asking what he was doing.
Determining what went wrong in busts like these isn’t easy but it’s likely the Steelers canned or checked out of the flea flicker because of the defensive look, intending to dial up a normal running play. In this scenario, Warren didn’t get the message and believed the flea flicker was still the call.
The play squandered a chance for points. What would’ve been a 2nd-and-4 run on the Steelers’ own 44 poised to gain yards turned into 3rd and 4. Rodgers threw incomplete, forcing a punt. While Cincinnati didn’t score on its ensuing drive, Pittsburgh failed to extend a 7-0 lead. The Steelers later did on a Chris Boswell field goal, though a touchdown was wiped out due to holding while a 4th and 1 Tush Push was negated by an obvious false start, allowing the Bengals to hang around and climb back into the game. By halftime, Cincinnati had erased its deficit and led 17-10.
Pittsburgh played a sloppy game. Moreso on defense than offense but two interceptions, multiple key penalties, and miscommunication like this play all contributed to the loss. Even after the game, there was still some miscommunication on the intent of the play call or, at least, how the explanation would be conveyed to the media. It leaves us searching for answers over which wires got crossed while the Steelers look for answers over how they were upset Thursday night.
