Mike Tomlin Keeps Falling Short in One Key Area

PITTSBURGH — The Steelera are faltering and falling after another loss to a poor 2-10 team in the New England Patriots. When something like that happens, the heat does not go just to the players but to the head coach. Mike Tomlin is under some serious heat, and rightfully so in that regard. Pittsburgh is not maximizing what they have.

While there are plenty of things to criticize, over the years, one thing keeps sticking out — Tomlin’s lack of a timeout and game management. He has fallen short repeatedly in this area, and yet, none of it has improved. That falls at the feet of Tomlin.

Steelers HC Mike Tomlin against the Arizona Cardinals, Dec. 3, 2023 – Ed Thompson / Steelers Now

In this loss against the the Patriots, the timeout management cost the Steelers dearly. If they had stayed within themselves on this, they likely would have had a chance to get the football back at the end of the game for one more try. Instead, the team came out of the huddle in the red zone with six seconds left on the play clock, forcing them to call a timeout. Then, on a fourth-and-short, Pittsburgh sent the punt team out on the field, but Tomlin called a timeout, sending the offense back on for a quarterback sneak. When you dial up a third down play at the sticks, you better be prepared for that scenario already.

Instead, they needlessly burned two timeouts. This is something that has cropped up time and time again over the tenure of Mike Tomlin. Whether he needs someone else on his staff is not good enough for this team’s needs. They have to maximize everything. That’s at the feet of Tomlin for not putting his team in a better spot, and it goes back to the unfortunate communication issues this group has week after week. That’s attention to detail right up to the head man, and Tomlin must get better.