A Deep Dive Into One of His Most Overlooked Downfalls: How Mike Tomlin Fails to Optimize Both the Clock and Overall Situational Football for the Steelers

I previously wrote back in October how Tomlin’s decision to bench Fields for Russ was the wrong one. For a month and a half I was dead wrong, yet here we sit after another December collapse, another first round postseason exit, and another offseason not having confidence in the quarterback position. I figured since all of those are probably topics everyone will be harping on, I decided to dive into what I personally think is something that is overlooked far too often for a coach that “any team in the NFL would die to have,” which is Tomlin’s consistent inability to manage the clock and game effectively. Here I’ll break down every situation where I (and I think most who have decent knowledge of football) would consider a failed opportunity by Tomlin in 2024 to either save time or add a possession, or when he made a situational decision that cost the Steelers in some way during that game. Some of these examples don’t end up losing the Steelers the game, but it’s the very simplicity of why certain time/game management decisions are made, and more so not made, that baffles me. You don’t have to agree with all them, but I think all of them are worth pointing out so you can get a good idea of how Tomlin makes the easy things so hard. If you’d like to see the actual plays from each game, check out my video breakdown here (coming soon).

Week 1 at Atlanta

Following a Kirk Cousins touchdown pass to Kyle Pitts to give the Falcons a lead 10-6 with 32 seconds remaining in the first half, the Steelers received the ball at the 30 after the touchback and on first down run a six yard hitch to Calvin Austin.

Rather than immediately calling one of their two timeouts here with just 28 seconds remaining, the Steelers opt to go hurry and run the next play with just 15 seconds left.

The play is a quick out to Freiermuth which goes out of bounds and picks up 5 for a first down, however it only leaves them with 9 seconds remaining in the half. If Tomlin uses his second timeout on the previous play it leaves them with 22 seconds and still one timeout to pick up about 16 or so yards if considering Boswell’s career long of 59. Now if you remember this game you know the very next play Fields hits Pickens on a 33 yard corner on the right sideline to get them well within Boswell’s range to go into the half only down 1, but that isn’t the point. The point is the play had to be reviewed to see how much time was left when Pickens stepped out of bounds, along with the Steelers going into the half having not used either of their two timeouts. It’s a great play call and execution here, but like I said not every example we go through will end up costing the Steelers. It’s the fact that how much more difficult these little decisions make things for this team, especially one that struggles consistently on offense. Though a minor example to start, keep a close eye on how this trend continues throughout this article.

Week 4 at Indianapolis

I’ll start out by giving Tomlin some credit here. He did a good job in the second half to even have one timeout left on this last drive, and this particular play wasn’t initially his fault. The Steelers started on their own 17 down 27-24 with 2:39 left. They had a great start to the drive, but a costly bad snap/miscommunication knocks them back 12 yards, and then a deep incompletion to Pickens sets them up with a 3rd and 22 from their own 30 with 1:07 left. The next play is a dump off to Najee that goes for 12 where he inexcusably stops his feet while getting tackled and goes backwards out of bounds, which causes the clock to continue to run.

From here it’s 4th and 10, and Tomlin opts to not take a timeout with the clock moving. This decision costs the Steelers 21 seconds and ultimately the game, as Fields pass falls incomplete on fourth down.

I think everyone understands wanting to keep the timeout for the play before the field goal, but at this point the game comes down to one play. Not only do you burn at the minimum 21 seconds to get to the line, but you also force your team that’s down a starting offensive lineman (James Daniels tore his achilles earlier in the game) to run a rushed play with the game on the line. Yes, the blame falls heavily on Najee here, but as a head coach you need to know that in this situation you have to A) give your team as much time as possible, and B) take the time to discuss so you can get your best play called for this scenario. From there you give yourself a better chance to pick up the first, clock it if you do, and live to fight another four downs with 20+ more seconds left and the best kicker in the league on hand. I know it’s a bang-bang decision you have to make, but for someone who’s been a head coach for 19 years a timeout here should be second nature, but again Tomlin forces the team into a situation that is harder than it needs to be.

Week 8 vs New York Giants

Here we have another example which is frustrating in multiple ways. Tied 6-6 vs the Giants in the second quarter with 8:30 left, Wilson finds Pickens for what was initially ruled a touchdown.

It’s a really dumb rule that should be changed, but rather than getting both feet down Pickens touches his right foot down twice but never his left, which in the NFL is considered an incomplete pass. As everyone knows, every scoring play in the NFL is reviewed. The refs looked at this and very easily overturned the call, as we can clearly see in the images above. Now after all these years whether Tomlin has someone upstairs telling him what to do with replays I still don’t know, but regardless of whatever he’s getting told here he throws the challenge flag. Given Tomlin’s abysmal history with challenges this shouldn’t come to much of a surprise for Steelers fans he’d throw the red flag here, but this one goes a little beyond his normal blatantly terrible challenges. Because this play was already reviewed in the booth, a challenge by a coach is not allowed. Tomlin does it anyway, resulting in the Steelers losing their second timeout.

Later in the half the Giants have the ball at their own 17 with 1:53 left, and they ended up going down to kick a field goal to tie the game at 9-9. So the loss of timeout doesn’t make a massive difference here though it would have been nice to be able to stop the clock twice to get the ball back if the defense held them, but talking about hypotheticals isn’t why we’re here. How does Tomlin not know the rules in this scenario? He stated after the game that he didn’t know they reviewed the call and wouldn’t have thrown the challenge if he’d known, but they ref clearly announced it after they did. Even if he didn’t hear that, why not just go to refs and ask them what happened since play was stopped? The Steelers hung on at the end for the win so it doesn’t impact the outcome of the game, but there’s been so many of these during Tomlin’s tenure and is just another example of inexcusable game management.

Week 11 vs Baltimore

This one may be a bit more controversial. Pittsburgh is up 6-0 with all three timeouts coming out of the two-minute warning in the first half, Baltimore with the ball at the Steelers 4 yard line, 1st and goal. The first play Derrick Henry goes three yards down to the Steelers 1.

The Steelers opt to not take a timeout after the play, so Baltimore takes their time, burns the full play clock, and Henry scores a touchdown with 1:16 left.

I’ll start by saying this one doesn’t frustrate me as much, but in today’s NFL it’s truly confusing to me how Tomlin doesn’t call a timeout here. You watch games around the league and see coaches almost ALWAYS call a timeout in this scenario, yet Tomlin for some reason almost never does. I understand you get the ball at half, and yes the Ravens have all three timeouts and you don’t want to give them the ball back, but you have to score points to win the game, no? Why would you not want to set your offense up with as much time as possible? You can’t expect your defense to stop them here when they have Derrick Henry and Lamar, so why not add more time to your last possession of the half?

Listen, I know this works out for them (the Steelers go three and out, punt, then Baltimore fumbles on the first play of their drive, letting the Steelers get a field goal before the end of the half) – but you cannot consistently rely on your defense to make miracles happen time and time again. You saw down the stretch what happened when Pittsburgh lost the turnover battle and didn’t set the offense up with great field position. Little things like this add up – yes they won this game, and I even can see the side of why Tomlin does this from time to time, but it’s truly remarkable how far behind the sticks he is when it comes to optimizing today’s game for your team.

Week 12 at Cleveland

This is a weird one, but one I still think deserves to be brought up for multiple reasons. After a long Cleveland drive it’s 3rd and 2 from the Steelers 25 with 2 minutes left to go in the game. The Steelers pressure Jameis Winston who throws a ball into the dirt, and a Brown’s linemen gets called for illegal touching of the pass. It’s a five yard penalty which Tomlin initially declines to keep at 4th down, but after discussing with officials (for a very long time) opts to accept the penalty to make it 3rd and 7 with 1:55 left.

You might be wondering why the players aren’t set and are looking towards their respective sidelines in that picture. Well that’s because, after nearly 5 minutes of actual time of Tomlin going back and forth with officials about the penalty, the STEELERS burn their second timeout before the play. So not only does Tomlin take away an opportunity for his team to win the game on one play (the Browns were going to go for it on 4th and 2, which Tomlin should know given the terrible weather and Browns recent kicking struggles), he then for whatever reason wastes a timeout with under two minutes to go, as if they didn’t have enough time to prepare during the penalty discussion. This is again just a complete mismanagement of the game – he lives and dies on trusting his defense to win him games yet doesn’t do it here, while somehow managing to also thin down his offense’s chances should the Browns score by using a timeout while the clock was already stopped. It’s pull-your-hair-out frustrating, and something we’ve seen happen far too many times from a Hall of Fame coach.

You thought we were done with this game? Think again. The Browns convert on 3rd and 7 (why wouldn’t they after having an eternity to get a play ready), and the Steelers get called for an unsportsmanlike conduct, which puts the Browns at the nine yard line, 1st and goal with 1:43 to go.

Chubb gets down to the one on the first play, going down with 1:36 left. Whether or not the Steelers should have let him score is a conversation for another day, but the more painful thing is what occurs after.

Tomlin opts to not call a timeout. I remember being in a bar yelling so loud the whole place was looking at me, and my dad was telling me to relax. In what world do you not call a timeout here? The Browns, who are in absolutely no rush whatsoever being in a position to win the game with a touchdown or chip shot field goal, waste the clock all the way down and score a touchdown on the next play with only 57 seconds remaining. The Steelers actually end up stopping the two-point conversion meaning a touchdown wins them the game with the score being 24-19, but either way you have to score a touchdown to do so, and that means going the length of the field (which in this case was 65 yards in 50 seconds after the kick return). I don’t know, maybe I’m crazy, but as someone who watches nearly every NFL game you almost always see coaches call timeouts in these scenarios to save as much time as possible. You’re going to have to hit a chunk play or get a big penalty at some point in the drive to have a chance, so having more time gives you more opportunities to do that. There is no “save the timeout for the field goal” in this situation because you need get six.

The Steelers got to the Browns 44 when they used their timeout, with only 16 seconds remaining, and end up losing after a failed hail mary. Does the extra time change the outcome of the game? Maybe not, but what I do know is it gives your team more plays on that final drive to make a play or for something crazy to happen, especially in those conditions. As I’ve stated previously I understand Tomlin’s viewpoints on most of these, but both of these situations are as bad as it gets in my opinion and emphasizes Tomlin’s critique of being behind the times of today’s NFL.

Week 13 at Cincinnati

This example is a much lesser degree of pain than the previous game, but still is stays with the theme of the article. As most remember this game was a breath of fresh on the offensive side of the ball, and the Steelers two-minute drive to end the first half was right on par, arguably their best two-minute drive of the season. The Steelers get down into Boswell’s range at Cincy’s 36 after a six yard catch by Calvin Austin and take a timeout with 38 seconds left (Tomlin let four seconds run off the clock for no reason after the play, but we’ll ignore that for now). They dump it off to Warren for 6 for a first down, hurry up and snap it for another dump off to Warren for 14 yards and another first down.

He gets to the 16 with 14 seconds left, and the Steelers let the clock run down to 3 seconds and kick a field goal. This was another example of me watching live flabbergasted as to why a timeout isn’t taken, but this isn’t about me. You just played a first half shootout against Joe Burrow and Jamar Chase, arguably the most lethal offense in the league at this point in the season, and rather than calling the timeout to take a shot at the endzone you settle for three. It just doesn’t make sense – why not try to go up two scores? If the first half was any indication you’re not going to get many defensive stops in the second half, so why not at least try and grow your lead to ten? Say you throw an interception on the next play, you still get the ball up three at the start of the second half. Going up six vs three with the way this game was going doesn’t really move the needle, and is once again an example of not giving your team ample opportunities to win. The Steelers somehow managed to keep up their magical offensive performance in the second half and win the game, but it’s the little plays and moments like these that show the gap between the Steelers and the elite teams. You know for a fact the Chiefs, Bills, Ravens, Lions, Eagles, etc are calling a timeout there to take a shot (the 2015-2018 Steelers probably would have too), but for now I guess we’ll continue to try and win with difficulty set to level 10.

Week 15 at Philadelphia

We’re now in the stretch of games where no matter what the Steelers did they probably still would have lost because they just weren’t the better team, but the end of the first half against the Eagles is another head scratcher. After just cutting it to a one score game following a Freiermuth touchdown, the Steelers get the stop they needed thanks to a TJ Watt sack to make it 4th and 24 with 1:55 left in the first half.

I feel like a broken record, but how is your first instinct here not to call a timeout immediately? Tomlin doesn’t call it – okay, the Steelers will get the ball back with a little over a minute AND two timeouts, right? Nope, because for whatever reason Tomlin lets 29 seconds bleed off the clock to then burn his second timeout.

What on Earth are we doing here? First off, if you call the timeout right after the sack you have the time to get your plan together for the punt coverage and save the 29 seconds. But at this point we know Tomlin cherishes timeouts over time, so for what reason do you call a timeout after nearly half a minute goes by? Are they really going to fake it on 4th and 24 from their own 16? News flash, they aren’t. Afraid you’re going to commit a penalty? If you do, so what! As long as it’s not a personal foul they’re still going to have to punt it. Only have 10 guys on the field? Play with 10 guys, you still get the ball back! I really don’t see how there’s possibly something so alarming in this situation you must waste a timeout. It’s laughable, especially in a game like this versus a team that’s getting ready to play in the Super Bowl. I don’t even bother checking the postgame interviews to see if he addresses these things, because the reporters are either too scared to ask about them or he makes up some nonsense excuse about what happened without taking blame.

Week 18 vs Cincinnati

After the brutal three game losing streak the Steelers finished at home against the Bengals with a sliver of hope – beat Cincy to go to Houston rather than Baltimore in the playoffs, and then see what happens. After a tremendous effort from the defense to hold the Bengals to only 19 points they end up losing, and there’s one clock small mishap that could’ve made a difference. The Steelers down two are driving to get into field goal range and have the ball, 1st and 10 at their own 42 with the clock running at around 48 seconds, one timeout left. Similar to the Colts game, I put much less blame on Tomlin here. Wilson scrambles and runs to his right, and rather than either going out of bounds or throwing it away he puts his head down and gets tackled with 40 seconds left. It’s a bonehead play, and he deserves to take the fall for this loss both with this play and his performance throughout the game.

Still, the job of the coach is to pick their guys up and make things easier on the players. Like the Colts game where Najee didn’t get out of bounds, Tomlin should have called the last timeout right away to preserve as much time as possible and get the best play called. It’s only 2nd down, and you’re going to need a 10+ yard play to have a chance regardless. Instead, everyone is scrambling around, Freiermuth barely gets off the field (I would go as far to say he didn’t even make it off), and Wilson is sacked on the next play with only 20 seconds left. Without a timeout, would you rather have a 2nd and 4 from your own 46 with 40 seconds left, or a 3rd and 12 from your own 40 with 20 seconds left? I understand it’s easy to write about this stuff after the fact, but it just seems too simple to ignore. If you have enough trust in your guys to get to the line quickly and run a productive play with the game on the line because you want to save the timeout, you should have trust in them to get up to the line and clock it post-timeout in hurry up. Getting quality plays called in these scenarios is the difference between winning and losing with an offense like the Steelers, and you even see that on the play coming out of the timeout. Yes they didn’t hit it, but it’s a great play call to get Pickens open down the sideline to get them in range, but he and Wilson just weren’t on the same page.

The above shot is a fitting picture both for how the last month of the season went for the Steelers and the theme of this article. As cliche as it is, football is a game of inches, but it’s also a game of minutes and seconds. Time is extremely valuable, especially for the Steelers who love playing in close games, and even one extra play or one extra second can be the deciding factor. Tomlin is a great coach, and having watched nearly every game he’s been at the helm for he’s done a lot of impressive things, especially the last few years without Ben. But that’s why this stuff is even more frustrating. He supposedly gets the best out of his players, yet he somehow can’t do basic things like call timeouts strategically like we see even the worst coaches in the league do. Are some of these a bit nit-picky? Maybe. But we’ve seen so many of these over the years someone has to bring it up since it seems like Tomlin always gets off easy.

Like I said at the start I wanted to write about something that was different than the traditional things we hear about after a failed season, as well Tomlin’s normally discussed downfalls (December collapses, can’t evolve offensively, no coaching tree, etc). All those things frustrate me as a fan too, but it’s the examples throughout this article that really make me question his in-game ability. There’s been many times these types of decisions he makes end up working and I look like the idiot, but to me it seems like negative ones are starting to pile up more and more as of late, and I’m tired of watching these types of mistakes hurt a team that already struggles in so many other facets of the game.