Steelers' Mike Tomlin Has Baffling Response For 4th Down Failure

After an amazing start to the season, the Pittsburgh Steelers have more questions than answers. They have now lost back-to-back games with terrible second half performances in each one. They went from competing for the top seed in the AFC to looking over their shoulder to try and keep the Baltimore Ravens from stealing the AFC North. Baltimore got one step closer with a 34-17 victory over Pittsburgh, as they finally broke the four-game losing streak against their rivals. If the Steelers keep playing like they did on Saturday, they will be one-and-done in the playoffs yet again. 

In the second half, the Steelers had a 4th and 6 near midfield, in which a decision was made to go for it. During his post-game press conference, Head Coach Mike Tomlin was asked about a fourth down decision that backfired on him. He defended it due to whatever "look" that they saw.

"Yeah, we got the look we anticipated," said Tomlin. "We had a shot down the field. They made a play; we didn't."

Russell Wilson attempted to hit Calvin Austin III over the middle for a massive play that would have set the Steelers up for first and goal at the bare minimum. Instead, the pass was nearly intercepted by Kyle Hamilton and the incompletion resulted in a turnover on downs at the Ravens' 45-yard line. 

Wilson has received endless praise for his "moon ball," but that particular play showed the negative part of that kind of pass: Austin was wide open initially, but the pass hung up in the air for way too long, which is why Hamilton was able to meet the receiver at the high point and make a play on the ball. 

It's called a moon ball because of how high it gets thrown. The higher the pass, the more it stays in the air, which means the defender has time to locate the ball and make a play without getting flagged for pass interference. Everything has its pros and cons, and the cons of Wilson's iconic pass showed its ugly face. 

The decision to go for it was questionable already. It was 4th and 6 at midfield with plenty of time left in the fourth quarter. However, it seemed like Wilson was content with letting the clock run down and take the delay of game penalty if he did not get the look he wanted. He got it and tried to take the shot, but he put too much arc on it.

The Ravens immediately responded with a 44-yard run by Derrick Henry, who seemed to be unstoppable in this game. Luckily, Lamar Jackson made a poor read and threw the ball directly towards Minkah Fitzpatrick. The Steelers looked like they got momentum back as they had the ability to drive back down the field and tie the game. 

Unfortunately, Wilson made his own poor decision and threw a pass directly to the waiting arms of Marlon Humphrey, who returned it all the way for a 37-yard pick-six. From there, the Steelers just rolled over and died, as it didn't even appear like they were trying anymore after that mistake.

Steelers Give Up After A Big Mistake

After failing on the fourth down attempt before, Tomlin opted to punt with less than 10 minutes to go in the game while down by 14. Even though it was a 4th and 12, that's one that you need to go for in that situation, especially when the defense has looked very weak over the last month. Even if you fail, at least try to show the opponent that you don't give up.

On the Steelers' final drive, they chose to just run the clock out as opposed to trying to score again. In between those two drives, the defense gave up an 11-play, 86-yard drive for a field goal. The big play was Zay Flowers going halfway across the field on a one-on-one mismatch with Beanie Bishop Jr.. The defense then continued to give up chunk run after chunk run.

What do you think about Tomlin defending his decision to go for it on 4th and 6, as well as his decision making across the 4th quarter? Let us know in the comments.

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