Mike Tomlin ripped for ‘white towel’ decision in loss

Things started well for the Pittsburgh Steelers during Saturday’s game against the Indianapolis Colts, as they took a 13-0 lead early in the second quarter. The game flipped after that, and the Steelers ended up on the wrong end of a 30-13 final score.

The loss dropped the Pittsburgh to 7-7 on the season and while the Steelers are still in the playoff race, it will be a bumpy path to the postseason. And coach Mike Tomlin is catching a lot of criticism for his team’s performance. One of the game’s key sequences in particular is being second guessed.

After scoring the touchdown to go up 13-0, Pittsburgh’s next five offensive possessions resulted in an interception, a punt, the end of the half, a fumble and another punt. Late in the third quarter and now trailing 24-13, the Steelers mounted a drive and got across midfield. On third-and-four from the 29, Mitch Trubisky threw an incomplete pass but Pittsburgh was penalized for holding. Rather than decline the penalty to bring up fourth down, Shane Steichen and the Colts moved the Steelers back 10 yards.

Trubisky’s pass on third-and-14 went well out of bounds. It seemed like Pittsburgh would kick a field goal to try to cut the deficit to eight points, or one possession. Kicker Chris Boswell even went onto the field but was quickly called back to the sidelines. Instead of trying what would have been roughly a 57-yard field goal with Boswell, Tomlin instead opted to play the field position game, sending punter Pressley Harvin III out.

Harvin’s punt was not particularly strong. That made it easier for the Colts to move down the field on their ensuing possession. That not only resulted in a field goal for Indianapolis but killed nearly nine minutes, giving a significant blow to Pittsburgh’s already slim playoff hopes. The Steelers mounted virtually no offense after. They did cross midfield on their next possession, but threw an interception soon after.

The conservative decision was confusing. This is particularly true when we remember that Boswell has made kicks from similar distances recently in far tougher environments than Indianapolis’ Lucas Oil Stadium —  a dome.

And it earned Tomlin a lot of criticism.