The Pittsburgh Steelers have been catching a lot of heat after their Week 12 loss to the Chicago Bears. Most of that has been directed at Head Coach Mike Tomlin for many baffling decisions he made during the week and in the contest. Fans, media, and even a couple of his own players have publicly called him out for one of the most poorly coached games of the 2025 season.
Gene J. Puskar / AP Photo
Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin yells at an official during a home game in Pittsburgh.
Former quarterback Ben Roethlisberger also had some issues with Tomlin in that game. On his podcast, Footbahlin with Ben Roethlisberger, he made sure to talk about the head coach's decision to punt instead of going for a fourth and nine as the two-minute warning was approaching.
"In Coach [Mike Tomlin]'s postgame press conference, he said something along the lines of, 'We have three timeouts and we're looking for a stop, and we get the ball back.' My thought is: if that's the case... why not take a chance on fourth down?" Roethlisberger asked. "You keep your timeouts, and you keep going. If you don't get it, you still have your timeouts and you're trying to stop them anyway... If you're counting on a three and out, does it matter where on the field you're counting on a three and out?"
Roethlisberger definitely has a point there. The situation was not ideal, as the Steelers had a fourth and nine at their own 23-yard line with 2:01 left in the game. However, the offense would have to find a way to drive down the field either way. It's argued that it would be easier to get the fourth down conversion and drive down the field than punt it, get the punt back, and have a drive with less time and no timeouts.
Andrew Stein / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin and Ben Roethlisberger smile before a training camp practice at Saint Vincent College in 2018.
The only reason to punt it there is because the Bears would have been in field goal position had the Steelers not gotten the fourth down conversion. If that happened, Pittsburgh would have needed a touchdown drive with no timeouts. Either way, a first down would mean the Bears win, so why not try to get nine yards and keep all of your timeouts to have the best chance of winning? On the flip side, the Steelers did in fact get the ball back, so the gamble worked out. Unfortunately for the Steelers, they weren't able to score on their last drive of the game or even get into field goal range to tie.
Many people accuse Tomlin of living in his fears, and this is a prime example. He clearly has more faith in his defense to stop the Bears' electric offense on three plays than he does his offense of getting nine yards in a single play. All that punt really did was make life harder on the offense, as they had to drive downfield with no timeouts, and they clearly could not do that.
Steelers Might've Lived In Their Fears On Final Drive
The play calls after the Steelers got the ball back were even more of a problem. Pittsburgh had the ball on its own 49-yard line with a first and 10. Every single play called was arguably a short-yard quick-hitter, including the one on fourth and six. Predictably, it did not work, and the Bears won anyway.
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Pittsburgh Steelers kicker Chris Boswell nailing six field goals leading the Week 1 victory.
Kicker Chris Boswell is statistically one of the most reliable kickers in NFL history. He made a 60-yard field goal earlier in the season, and the Steelers were very close to his range. In fact, they could have tried a field goal from 65 yards on that fourth and six. They theoretically could have also ran a play over the middle on an earlier down to gain a lot of yards, spike it to stop the clock, and give Boswell an easier attempt.
What do you think about Roethlisberger calling out Tomlin for his fourth down decision? Let us know in the comments or on X at @Steelers_ChrisB.
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