Kozora: Steelers’ Players Had Their Worst Game Of The Season – So Did Mike Tomlin

Collectively, the Pittsburgh Steelers played their worst game of the season Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts and were rightfully saddled with their first loss. They almost pulled off the comeback, rallying from a 17-0 hole to just fall short of the end. Blame should be spread around for the loss. The offense was too sloppy with its two turnovers, the run game was inefficient, the defense came out flat and allowed too many third down conversions. We already have and will continue to discuss all of that. But head coach Mike Tomlin had a stinker of a game full of weird decisions that did the team no favors.

Let’s break it down.

1. Gameday Roster Construction

How Mike Tomlin chose to construct his gameday roster is probably the most forgiving thing on this list. Injuries impacted the team with five of their inactives injured to some degree. Only CB Darius Rush and WR Roman Wilson were healthy scratches. Putting together a roster mid-season to juggle the needs of offense, defense, special teams, and the game plan and balancing around injuries isn’t easy. I get that.

Still, the construction for this game was odd. The Steelers again dressed only four wide receivers and three edge rushers (if you include DeMarvin Leal in that group) while suiting up six other defensive linemen and 11 defensive backs. Did DL Dean Lowry need to dress in a game where Pittsburgh could reasonably be expected to be in sub-package against the 11 personnel-heavy Colts, entering the game with the 7th-highest rate of three receiver sets in the league? Against the rough and tumble Chargers, I get going heavy on the d-line. The Colts aren’t built the same way.

Tomlin would argue that because Leal was going to see more EDGE snaps, an extra lineman was needed. Ultimately though, Lowry and even Isaiahh Loudermilk only played a handful of snaps in this one as Pittsburgh operated from sub-package most of the day. Based on my early charting, over 70-percent of their snaps.

Having 11 DBs maybe then makes sense for a game like this. But the team probably could’ve gotten away with just 10, still giving them flexibility. Terrell Edmunds didn’t have to play in dime packages. It’s a role DeShon Elliott could’ve assumed. Did CB Thomas Graham Jr. need to be elevated for this one? There are special teams considerations here, especially knowing Nick Herbig was starting at OLB and – I assume – had his special teams duties curtailed.

But four receivers and three EDGEs is very thin where one injury really puts stress on the team. Tomlin could counter and say Cordarrelle Patterson is another receiver but given he was the No. 2 running back on the day, you start putting too much on his plate. And Pittsburgh is lucky Herbig didn’t miss much time with his ankle injury, which would’ve otherwise left the team with two EDGE players, a hybrid Leal being one of them. The last two times the Steelers dressed only three outside linebackers, someone has gotten hurt. Alex Highsmith against the New England Patriots last year (T.J. Watt also played through injury that day) when Markus Golden was sat and Herbig against the Colts when Pittsburgh rolled with three.

You can twist things around and understand the conclusions Tomlin came to. But this construction was playing with fire.

2. Failing To Challenge Najee Harris’ 3rd Down Run

On 3rd and 2 from the Steelers own 38 late in the first quarter, RB Najee Harris appeared to cross the 40-yard line for a first down. Instead, the refs marked him 1-yard short at the 39. Tomlin didn’t challenge and instead went for it, the conversion failing and the Colts getting the ball in awesome field position.

Harris’ run should’ve drawn the red flag. While spot fouls are tough to win, Tomlin’s rule is he’ll challenge if there’s a clear landmark. Challenging if someone made it to the 32 or 33-yard-line in a pile of bodies is unlikely to be reversed. But clear marks like being near the sidelines and the first down marker or 5-yard intervals like the 40-yard line that extend the whole field is easier. Here’s what Tomlin said in 2017 which, funny enough, referenced the 40.

“Very rarely will I challenge a line to gain, unless there is visually a line to gain,” said Tomlin at the time. “I was standing on the yard marker, it was maybe the 40-yard line. There was a white line. When the line to gain is a line that is the only time I will consider challenging a spot because the visual evidence required to flip it you probably have a better shot as far as seeing something definitive.”

And here’s a look at the play.

I’m not going to pretend like that’s a slam dunk overturn and the congestion makes it hard to know when exactly Najee is down. But the yard-line and the football and clearly visible, increasing the chance of the call being overturned in Pittsburgh’s favor. A moment worth challenging. Perhaps Tomlin got bad intel from whoever feeds him info from the booth and being on the road is harder to gather such information. But this deserved a booth review.

And the fourth down call itself? Tomlin says don’t make the simple complex. What should’ve been a QB sneak turned into a trap run from split back where Pittsburgh lost a blocker and just botched the play, turning it over on downs. That might not have been Tomlin’s play call and blame can fall on Arthur Smith too, but in those weighty moments, Tomlin has to make sure this call is Fields finding the bubble and sneaking ahead.

3. Challenging Colts WR Josh Downs’ Catch

Four plays after failing to challenge Harris’ run, Tomlin challenged a 3rd and 6 reception by Colts WR Josh Downs. This one just didn’t make any sense. None whatsoever. At first, it seemed like he challenged if Downs got the first down, which it seemed like he did. But the challenge was over if Downs caught the ball. Here’s the play.

This isn’t even close. The ball never hits the ground. Clear as day, it’s a catch. An easy challenge for the Steelers to lose, costing them their first timeout of the half. One that would’ve been useful later on. This is Tomlin’s worst mistake of the day. Again, blame the intel he’s getting in his headset, it’s not like he’s looking at a monitor of the replay, but this sort of weak challenge can’t happen.

4. Team Comes Out Flat

Assessing a catch-all of the team being down early. Digging a 17-0 hole and trying to storm back only to fall short. Felt like a playoff game. Players take heat here, too. They’re in charge executing. But it’s fair to put on a coaching staff when the opposition comes out delivering the first blow. Indy’s up-tempo offense had Pittsburgh on their heels that first drive while it’s still a struggle for the offense to get much going early. They have just 10 first quarter points this season.

5. End Of Half Run Play

Trailing 17-0 on the Colts’ 44 with one timeout and :41 left in the half, what do the Steelers dial up? An RPO that turned into a run by RB Aaron Shampklin. It netted 5-yards and a first down but kept the clock rolling, the team not snapping again until there were 23 seconds left.

Fields was sacked on the following play, forcing Pittsburgh to burn their final timeout for a net gain of 2-yards, on the Colts’ 42, and without any timeouts left with 18 seconds to go.

Of course, Tomlin isn’t the play caller and Smith can again be criticized here. But the team had a long time to talk about their calls here after the refs reviewed George Pickens’ catch the previous play. This is where Tomlin can offer his overall suggestion, as we’ve seen him do before in big-time moments.

There are times where I understand the Steelers hyper-conservative nature. Their 3rd and long run against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 1 to get into field goal range. I get it given the circumstances. It’s early in the game, you’re looking to tie it. But down 17 at the half? Be aggressive, try to come away with seven.

I’m guessing the fact Pittsburgh was getting the ball at half played a role here, the Steelers trying to double-dip with a field goal and touchdown out of the half, but this was too conservative for a team down three-possessions. They still came away with a field goal but I didn’t like this moment. And it sure would’ve been nice to have that timeout lost from the terrible challenge on Downs’ catch earlier.

6. Fourth Quarter Timeout

A forgotten weird one from Tomlin. Colts up 24-17 mid-way through the third quarter. Steelers stuff RB Trey Sermon for a 2-yard loss, setting up 4th and 5 from the 16. Indy brings out the field goal unit to kick a field goal. And the Steelers…call a timeout? It was quick, too, right after the third down play ended. Wasn’t even an issue of both sides lined up and Pittsburgh having say, 12 men on the field.

From the moment the Colts were stopped on fourth down to the time the ref came on the mic to announce the timeout, 10 seconds elapsed. Which means the actual timeout was signaled even quicker than that.

Why? No clue. The Colts didn’t indicate they were going for it. Joe Flacco is walking off the field. The Colts are obviously kicking the field goal to go up 10 points with six minutes left. Why burn the timeout? There was no injury and no confusion from what I can tell. I’d genuinely love an answer. Maybe something happened that required it. But I can’t make sense of burning your first timeout ahead of the field goal that’s going to put you down two-scores.

7. No Timeout Last Possession

You can’t take timeouts with you. But Tomlin did. On the final possession, the Steelers didn’t use their last timeout. They didn’t use it after the disaster that was the botched snap that lost 12 yards, setting up 2nd and 22. They didn’t use it when Najee Harris couldn’t stop the clock on the 3rd and 22 completion, going backwards out of bounds to keep time running.

That led to a hurried 4th down call with time running out, a Fields incompletion that ended the game.

Tomlin said he wanted to keep the timeout in his back pocket in case Pittsburgh got into field range. And I get that. I know how the field changes and how defenses play you differently when you’re out of timeouts. But the back pocket clock stoppage doesn’t matter if they don’t convert on 4th down first and I’d rather settle down an obviously chaotic couple of plays for my best call in a gotta-have-it moment. You could even map out the next call if you wanted to during the break. Ultimately, the team didn’t use its sole timeout on their final possession.

Final Thoughts

Not exactly Tomlin’s smoothest game and his team’s play matched that energy. To be clear, I’m not saying Tomlin is terrible and should be fired. This is just a matter-of-fact assessment of the game.

I might be the person panicking the least, ugly as the loss was. Still have confidence in Justin Fields and this defense and they can bounce back Sunday night with a win over the Dallas Cowboys. But any of Tomlin’s decisions against the Colts had me scratching my head.