Former Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger blasts Mike Tomlin for “bad coaching” in Week 14 against the Patriots.
After allowing 21 points to the New England Patriots in the first half of their Week 14 Thursday Night Football matchup, the Pittsburgh Steelers were playing catch-up in the second half. With 13:23 left in the game, Pittsburgh
trailed 21-10 when the defence forced a quick three-and-out by the Patriots offence, which resulted in Miles Killebrew blocking the punt and giving the Steelers excellent field position. The drive began with a six-yard run by
Najee Harris. Then, for a first down, Mitch Trubisky completed a pass to Darnell Washington. Then, with 11:15 seconds remaining on the clock for the first down play, Pittsburgh called its first timeout.
The Steelers punched it in the end zone with a one-yard quarterback keeper by Trubisky after attempting some trickery on a first and goal with tight end Connor Heyward weeping out wide and nearly throwing an interception
trying to target Washington. With 11:14 remaining in the game, Trubisky threw a dart to Pat Freiermuth for the two-point conversion, putting Pittsburgh down 21-18.The Steelers’ next offensive possession began at their 25-yard line,
and they were faced with a difficult decision after Freiermuth caught a pass on third down for a four-yard gain, but was stopped a yard short of the line to gain. Pittsburgh faced a dilemma deep in their own territory, trailing by a field goal.
and go for it, or hand the ball back to the Patriots’ offence, which had been stifled by Pittsburgh’s defence in the second half. Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin decided to take a timeout to think about it. Pittsburgh launched the
offence, and Trubisky gained the first down, but the drive ended in a punt.
Former Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger slammed his former coach’s decision to use two timeouts early in
the fourth quarter when Pittsburgh could have used them later in their comeback efforts. On episode 46 of the Footbahlin with Ben Roethlisberger podcast, while discussing the game with co-host Spencer Te’o, the two-time Super Bowl champion chastised Tomlin for his use of timeouts.
