Mike Tomlin spent a good portion of his weekly news conference today defending and supporting the decision to throw a screen pass to Antonio Brown with two minutes remaining merely to extend his record NFL streak.
The pass to Brown gained 16 yards and allowed him to continue his NFL-record streak of having at least five catches and 50 yards in 21 consecutive games.
Ben Roethlisberger said after the game he called the play specifically to keep Brown’s record intact.
“He’s got a significant record that exemplifies what he’s doing in his career,” Tomlin said. “We want to support that. We had a low-risk play to get the ball in his hands. The guys were excited to get the ball in is hands, as were we.”
However, Tomlin said if the play didn’t work, the Steelers would not have called another pass to Brown to continue the streak.
“If he doesn’t get it on that play, it’s a wrap,” he said.
However, Tomlin was not happy that veteran slot receiver Lance Moore was penalized for delay of game when he spiked the ball after a 26-yard catch – his longest with the Steelers. Moore, who has seen limited playing time behind Justin Brown, looked at the Steelers bench when he spiked the ball and was angrily accosted by Tomlin when he came to the sideline. Tomlin said he did not think Moore’s action was a sign of defiance.
“It was an expression of frustration,” Tomlin said. “I don’t think he knew he got a penalty. I had to point it out to him. We can’t tolerate that, even in frustrating moments.”
Among the things Tomlin did like in the 17-9 victory in Jacksonville was the performance of the defense. The Steelers held the Jaguars to 56 yards rushing and a 3.7-yard average – the third game in a row they help the opponent under 65 yards on the ground.
Also, after Brice McCain’s 22-yard interception return for touchdown, the defense held to Jaguars to seven plays and forced two punts on the final two possessions.
“The defense put together two halves of football – the first time we did that,” Tomlin said. “That’s encouraging. Hopefully that’s a sign of things to come. We did the things necessary to close the game out in the waning moments.”
Tomlin lauded punter Brad Wing for a 41-yard net punt (52 yards gross) with 5:28 remaining, calling it “significant” in that situation. A week earlier, Wing had a 29-yard punt with less than a minute remaining that gave Tampa Bay possession at the Steelers 44 and set up its winning touchdown drive.
Even though the Steelers committed only seven penalties for 50 yards in Jacksonville after being flagged 44 times for 387 yards in the first four games, Tomlin said he was still disappointed in the number of penalties on special teams. The Steelers were penalized four times for 30 yards, including a hold on a kick return and an illegal-block call on a punt return.
First Published: October 7, 2014, 5:20 p.m.
