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Steelers Aggressiveness on 4th Down Backfires after Review
PITTSBURGH — Mike Tomlin elected to go for it on a 4th and 1 in his own territory late in the first half against the Cincinnati Bengals on Saturday, a decision that backfired when Jaylen Warren was stopped short of the line to gain, and the Bengals went into the half with a 13-7 lead.
The Steelers defense mitigated the damage, but Cincinnati was able to double their lead going into the half thanks to a 27-yard Cade York field goal on the back of the Pittsburgh offense’s fourth-down failure.
The Steelers looked like they had the first down on their second-down play, when Pat Freiermuth caught a ball in the flat and stumbled toward the sideline. He was initially marked for a first down, but on replay, was ruled a yard short.
Despite being low on time with under one minute left in the half, the Steelers lined up and ran a quarterback sneak with Russell Wilson. Once again, he was marked by the on-field officials as having gained a first down, before replay overturned that decision.
Facing 4th and 1 at their own 37-yard line and 49 seconds left in the half, Tomlin chose not to send the punt team onto the field. Instead, Wilson turned and handed the ball off to running back Jaylen Warren.
Warren tried to go off left tackle on the handoff, but he was tacked quickly by linebacker Germaine Pratt and cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt. For the third time, Warren was marked as having gained the first down, before replay corrected the spot and gave Cincinnati the ball.
The Steelers will get the ball to start the second half.
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