Mike Tomlin acknowledged that a penalty that went against his team during Sunday's 20-10 loss to the Jaguars was something he had not seen in 17 years as the Steelers head coach. Tomlin kept his cool while discussing the officials, but his top receiver, Diontae Johnson, ripped the zebras afterwords while saying that they cost Pittsburgh the game.
Tomlin and Johnson both alluded to an offsides call on guard Isaac Seumalo that wiped out a Chris Boswell field goal near the end of the first half. There was also frustration on Johnson's part for what appeared to be inconsistent officiating regarding unnecessary roughness on hits against quarterbacks Kenny Pickett and Trevor Lawrence.
While the officiating undoubtedly played a role in Sunday's outcome, Tomlin doesn't want his team to use officiating as an excuse for Sunday's loss or any game moving forward.
"I know a lot has been written and said or asked about the officiating and so forth," Tomlin said during his weekly press conference. "Here's my mindset and our mindset regarding officiating. It is our desire to win definitively, where potentially controversial calls are less significant. That's what good teams do. That's what elite teams do. It's our desire to be a good and elite team so that we're not as flimsy and become a component of some debatable calls and things of that nature.
"I acknowledge there was some of that in the game," Tomlin continued, "but it's some of that in most games, to be quite honest with you, things that are capable of being reviewed or assessed in that way. I like to focus my energies on the things that are within our control, the quality of our execution, and I think when you do that definitively, it makes those discussions less relevant. I think that's the point that I want to make to our football team moving forward.
"You just simply got to make those things, those discussions less significant by the quality of your play, by winning and winning definitively. Obviously, we didn't play well enough for that to transpire."
Tomlin alluded to several things the Steelers didn't do that contributed to the loss. He mentioned Johnson not catching a deep pass from Pickett on the game's first play from scrimmage. Tomlin also referenced Pickett throwing behind Johnson on an incomplete pass (that had it been completed would have been a touchdown) and a misfire between Pickett and George Pickens that also occurred in the first half.
With The First Pick Newsletter
With The First Pick Newsletter
Prepare for the upcoming NFL Draft with the day’s big stories + mock drafts, big board updates and more.
Thanks for signing up!
Keep an eye on your inbox.
Sorry!
There was an error processing your subscription.
Tomlin, somewhat oddly, also said that the defense could have helped Pittsburgh's cause more by creating more opportunistic turnovers. Never mind the fact that his defense did force three turnovers that prevented the Jaguars from taking control of the game much earlier than they did.
"We were able to get some turnovers, but they weren't the type of turnovers that tee up the offense in terms of being on a short field, although I do appreciate them," Tomlin said. "They kept the score down, (but) they weren't the type of ones that tee up the offense. Obviously, we've got a desire to dominate the turnover component of play. We got some but not the type that's really advantageous."
As far as questionable calls being a somewhat consistent theme in games, Tomlin is correct. To find an example of that, you don't have to go back very far. In fact, the Steelers were the beneficiaries of a questionable spot on Pickett's sneak that allowed Pittsburgh to run out the clock during their Week 7 win over the Rams.
Tomlin and his team has turned the page while centering their focus on Thursday night's game against the Titans, who are coming off a 28-23 win over the Falcons that saw rookie quarterback Will Levis throw four touchdowns in his first career start.
