PITTSBURGH — Coach Mike Tomlin invited second-guessers to “have at it” but said he was “comfortable” with the Pittsburgh Steelers‘ controversial play calls during Sunday’s loss at home to the Jacksonville Jaguars in an AFC semifinal.
“Have at it,” Tomlin said while facing a series of questions during his postgame news conference on coaching decisions. “I’m comfortable with what we called. We didn’t execute it. I’m not addressing the possibilities.”
The play calls included a pair of failed fourth downs by the Pittsburgh offense and an onside kick in the game’s late stages that led to the Jaguars’ clinching field goal in a 45-42 victory. The Jaguars’ triumph sent them to New England to face the Patriots in next Sunday’s AFC championship game and ended the Steelers’ season.
“I’m a competitor,” Tomlin said. “We’re in a competitive business. I wouldn’t say it’s shock. I wouldn’t say it’s hurt, either. It’s just unfortunate we didn’t get the job done. You can characterize it however you want. We understand the business we’re in. We embrace it. We live for it. But we didn’t get it done.”
On both fourth-and-one failures, the Steelers opted against a quarterback sneak by Ben Roethlisberger. A first-quarter run to the outside by tailback Le’Veon Bell resulted in a four-yard loss. A fourth-quarter pass by Roethlisberger resulted in an incompletion.
“I felt comfortable with that,” Tomlin said of the run by Bell. “They packed the As and the Bs (gaps). Obviously I wasn’t comfortable with the result. We didn’t execute well enough. They did. And I guess you’ve got to acknowledge that. They won the moments. Whether it was fourth-down plays or conversions by them in some form or fashion on offense, they made the significant plays in the moments. And that’s what you have to do in order to advance.
“We lost some fourth-down plays. We lost some possession downs on the other side. Those significant moments kind of define you, particularly this time of year. They made those plays. We made our share of plays in the game, but not those plays in those moments. You’ve got to give them credit, tip your cap to them for that.”
Pressed later about the lack of a quarterback sneak on either fourth-and-short play, Tomlin said, “They’re very good at stopping it. They had people in the As and Bs. I stand by the calls we made. We just didn’t execute them. We wouldn’t be having these conversations had we executed those plays. And such is life. I’m not looking to convince you or change your mind. I’m just telling you we were comfortable with the calls that we made. And they stood up in those moments better than we did.”
The onside kick came after the Steelers had pulled to within 42-35 with just more than two minutes remaining. They had two timeouts plus the two-minute warning to stop the clock, and they could have opted to kick the ball deep and try to rely on their defense to force a punt. Instead, the onside kick failed. The Jaguars did not get a first down but kicked a game-clinching field goal.
“We wanted to get the ball back,” Tomlin said. “We hadn’t stopped them convincingly enough to take any other approach, in my opinion. And it was my decision.”
It was a bitterly disappointing end to the season for the Steelers, the No. 2 seed in these AFC playoffs. So many had expected a Steelers-Patriots rematch in the AFC championship game. Instead, the Jaguars head to New England and the Steelers head into an offseason of uncertainty.
“We’ve got a lot of guys coming back, and we’ll get ready next year,” running back Le’Veon Bell said.
Bell played under the franchise tag this season after he and the Steelers failed to strike a long-term deal. He is eligible for free agency again, and he was asked if he plans to be part of next season for the Steelers.
“I hope so,” he said.
Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger contemplated retirement after last season, and was asked late Sunday about his plans for playing next season.
“I definitely have a desire to play football,” Roethlisberger said. “I love this game. I love these guys. Like I said, it’s tough. It stings. You hate to lose it. You hate to lose at home. I feel bad because I feel like I let the fans down, my teammates down. … I know there will be some that say, ‘We had a great season. Thanks for the ride.’ But a lot of them are disappointed like we are. It wasn’t enough. And I feel bad for that.
“I feel like I let a lot of people down. And I’ll take it all on myself. That’s fine. I have no problem with that. … I don’t know about contracts and who’s coming back. But I know the guys up front are. That makes it good for me. So I look forward to next year with those guys.”
