Mike Tomlin Promises Change after Penalty-Filled Game: ‘We Gotta Play Cleaner’
DENVER — To say the least, Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin was not happy about the penalties after Sunday’s 13-6 win over the Denver Broncos at Mile High. The Steelers had 10 accepted penalties against them for 78 yards.
“I thought the first thing that kind of captured my attention was the penalties,” Tomlin said after the game. “You can’t produce or sustain drives being penalized the way that we were. And so we got some work ahead of us there, among other things. Just from a knee-jerk reaction standpoint, though, that was the most troublesome component of the game.”
The Steelers have had 19 accepted penalties against them in the first two weeks. It’s the most the Steelers have been penalized through the first two games since 2018, per ESPN Stats & Info.
“I’m not worried about officiating messaging and seeking comfort along those lines,” Tomlin said. “We gotta play cleaner, and it’s as simple as that. And so, we’re not gonna hope for a change. We’re gonna do some things to create a change in terms of how we approach the work and we will.”
Steelers second-year offensive tackle Broderick Jones committed three penalties on a drive in the second quarter, which ruined a promising possession. Jones was benched mid-drive.
“When you get holding penalties, you’re gonna shut a drive down in the National Football League, particularly at this of team development, ” Tomlin said. “We just don’t have enough cohesion to overcome those long yardage circumstances. Really, not a lot of people do. In September, at this stage in the game, you get a holding penalty, it’s gonna shut a drive down. So we got to play cleaner.”
Tomlin gave a short answer when asked if Jones’ was benched because of the three penalties that killed a drive.
“You got it,” Tomlin said.
Troy Fautanu started the game at right tackle, but the Steelers rotated Jones during the second quarter. After a penalty filled game in Denver, Jones could permanently be on the bench.
Alan Saunders contributed reporting from Denver.
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