Mike Tomlin Brushes Off Concerns on Steelers Taunting Fouls

PITTSBURGH — Despite the victory over the Rams on Sunday, Pittsburgh’s two taunting penalties from each of their receivers is a massive talking point. Former Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger openly questioned on Monday how much the team could tolerate Pickens getting into people’s faces and being called for bad penalties. Then, Diontae Johnson got nailed for the same thing later in the game.

“I just don’t know how long do we allow that to keep happening,” Roethlisberger said on his Footbahlin podcast. “Because it didn’t end up hurting the team. But what if it did? You don’t need to do that. There’s no point in doing that…. it seems like this happens in every game. It hasn’t happened yet, but it could hurt us at some point. What if that happens in the fourth quarter and costs you the game?”

Mike Tomlin went deeper into his thoughts from Sunday’s game on Tuesday. He specifically mentioned the tenor of the officiating crew. That crew did not let a lot go throughout the day. For any team, you have to figure out how they will call specific penalties, and the Steelers got to see they would not have much leeway when Najee Harris got into the face of a defender early in the game. Tomlin says their lack of failure to adjust is his biggest worry, not the fact that the taunting occurred.

“Oftentimes, it’s our job to feel the tenor of a crew,” Tomlin said. “We have to adjust our behavior accordingly. You know, we got into the game and saw the tenor of that crew and didn’t adjust our behavior accordingly. That’s our job as professionals. Am I worried about those issues being issues moving forward? No, I’m not. But it is a great opportunity to talk about learning the tenor of a (refereeing) crew; the worst thing we did was not adjust to that tenor. That’s on me.”

Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Diontae Johnson (18) runs the ball during the first half of an NFL football game against the Los Angeles Rams Sunday, Oct. 22, 2023, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

After the game, Pickens addressed just what happened on that spot. Knowing George Pickens is emotional, Rams defensive backs threw small jabs at Pickens and tried to get under his skin. They were the factors that made Pickens run into a taunting penalty that set the Steelers back after a significant gain off a slant route. His blindside block penalty did not help matters, either.

“I feel like personally, going out there, a game like this showed me, they’re kinda looking at me for trying to mess up,” Pickens said. Guys are antagonizing me more. Today is the first time I’ve seen anything like that. Guys were really just trying to get me out of the game or get under my skin deliberately. All I can really say is keep fighting hard.”

On Sunday, Tomlin’s lone specific thought was that the players had to learn and grow from the penalties. He seems to be referring to reading officiating crews and reacting to how they call the game rather than ratcheting down the intensity in the games of Johnson and Pickens.

Alan Saunders provided reporting from Pittsburgh