Steelers HC Mike Tomlin Defends Aggressive Fourth-Down Decision
BALTIMORE — With the Pittsburgh Steelers trailing 24-17 with 15 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter and possessing the ball at Baltimore’s 46-yard line, head coach Mike Tomlin decided to go for it.
The Steelers got a good look, as Calvin Austin III was open downfield but Ravens All-Pro safety Kyle Hamilton came in at the last second to break up the pass.
On the first play of the possession, Derrick Henry ripped off a 44-yard run to put Baltimore deep in Steelers territory. The Steelers looked lifeless, but the momentum was put to an halt on the next play, as Minkah Fitzpatrick picked off an ill-advised pass by Lamar Jackson.
Then two plays later, Marlon Humphrey pretty much put the nail in the coffin with a 37-yard pick-six.
“I thought it was a little bit out of balance probably prior to that,” Tomlin said when asked if the early fourth-quarter sequence changed the outcome of the game. “As I mentioned, we never controlled the run game. When you’re not controlling the run game, you’re not going to have a sense of comfort in terms of the flow of it, and that was the case.”
Tomlin also defended his decision to go for it on fourth-and-6 from Baltimore’s 46-yard line. Tom Brady, who was on the call for FOX, thought it was a bold move. He would have punted.
“We got the look we anticipated. We had a shot downfield. They made a play, we didn’t,” Tomlin said.
Austin said Hamilton just made a play on the ball.
“Ball is in the air. Jump ball, he got it,” he said.
The Steelers faced a fourth-and-12 at the 50-yard line with 9:26 remaining following Humphrey’s pick-six, but Tomlin decided to send Corliss Waitman on the field instead of going for it.
The Ravens responded with a 11-play, 86-yard drive that drained 6:09 of the clock. Justin Tucker nailed a 23-yard field to goal to increase Baltimore’s lead to 34-17 with 3:10 remaining.
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