Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin took to the podium Tuesday to answer questions from local media and ended up defending his team from some criticisms.
Although the loss to the Cleveland Browns came last Thursday, some reporters had more questions about George Pickens’ play, and his antics.
The wide receiver and Browns cornerback Greg Newsome came into conflict both during and after the Hail Mary on the final play of the game when Pickens tossed Newsome by his facemask towards the stands. In the process, Pickens was taken out of the play.
Tomlin avoided directly answering questions about the scuffle, sticking to football by reiterating that Pickens’ job was to high point the ball.
When a reporter asked him if Pickens was in position to do his job, Tomlin replied, “I think [Cleveland’s] actions had something to do with him not being in position to do that,” according to Chris Adamski of TribLive.com.
That is a reference to the actions of Newsome, who pushed Pickens out the back of the end zone while the ball was in mid-air, a move which Tomlin and Pickens both clearly think should have been pass interference.
George Pickens and Greg Newsome on the final play of Steelers vs Browns pic.twitter.com/8N4vvU4wYj
— Val Dewar (flyweight enjoyer) (@the3els) November 26, 2024
It appears the Steelers’ head coach has no problem with, or at least will not speak publicly on, the extracurricular activities of his star wideout this week in the mini-brawl with Newsome against he back wall behind the end zone.
Tomlin went on to defend his team again in discussing a controversial third-down play call where Justin Fields came into the game. Fields has been primarily used as a runner lately, but threw a pass on Thursday for the first time since Russell Wilson took over the starting job.
On that key third-down failure that prevented Pittsburgh from running out the clock, Fields took a three-step drop and delivered a decent impression of Wilson's now-famous "moonball" in the direction of Pickens, who was one-on-one on the outside.
The pass ultimately fell incomplete and drew criticism considering the situation. The Steelers only needed four yards, so a deep ball wasn't an ideal play-call there. Furthermore, not having a superior passer in Wilson throw the ball was more reason to be frustrated over the play.
George Pickens almost had a part 2 and look at this dime by Fields pic.twitter.com/YU14mKjSMJ
— Justin Fields Fan Club (@JustinFieldsFC_) November 23, 2024
Yet Mike Tomlin does not regret the play call or the personnel grouping.
“We felt good about it, to be quite honest with you. It was a weighty moment. It was third-and-medium," Tomlin said, per ESPN's Brooke Pryor. "They had 11 guys within five yards of the line of scrimmage. We had GP matched up on a corner not named Denzel Ward. That feels like more than a 50-50 ball to me, and so we were comfortable with that decision.”
Much of the Steelers’ biggest plays this season have come by hitting Pickens deep on go routes, especially with Russell Wilson at quarterback. As a result, teams are double-covering him more than ever.
Arthur Smith drew up a play that got GP into the one-on-one situation that an elite jump-ball receiver lives for, and Fields delivered a great throw. The result of the play does not automatically condemn it as being a bad call, or even bad execution necessarily.
Still, there are plenty of negatives to take away from a Thursday night upset where the first place Steelers lost to the last place team in the AFC North.
Tomlin and Pittsburgh will have to right the ship as they travel to the opposite side of Ohio to play Cincinnati this coming Sunday at 1:00 pm EST.
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