The Pittsburgh Steelers pushed their record to 7-2 in Week 10 with a huge 28-27 victory over the Washington Commanders. The win was sealed by a gutsy call from Mike Tomlin, as he sent his offense on the field on 4th & 1 at the Commanders 49-yard line with 1:02 left to go in the game. And sure enough, it worked, as Jer'Zhan Newton jumped offsides to give Pittsburgh a first down that would seal the game.
Coaches frequently send their offenses out in these short yard situations in an effort to bait the opposing defense into jumping offsides to give them a free first down. When asked if he was intending to run a play if Washington didn't jump offsides, Tomlin hilariously kept his cards close to his hand, while labeling himself a “degenerate” in the process.
“We'll never know, will we? You know I'm a degenerate,” Tomlin said after the game.
Mike Tomlin's huge call pays dividends for Steelers
Conventional logic would tell you that Tomlin likely would not have run a play here if the Commanders hadn't jumped offsides, but it is worth nothing that he also ran a fake punt on 4th & 15 at his own 16-yard line earlier in the game (which didn't work out for him), so it's clear he's not afraid of taking risks every now and then. Considering the circumstances, though, running a play would have been a bold move, even for Tomlin.
Thankfully for Pittsburgh, though, it wasn't a bridge that the team had to cross, and they managed to hold on for a win over one of the top teams in the NFL. Tomlin is pushing all the right buttons for the Steelers currently, and the team will be looking to keep the good times rolling in Week 11 when they go up against the Baltimore Ravens in a huge divisional matchup.
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