The Pittsburgh Steelers had lots of issues in their Week 15 loss against the Philadelphia Eagles. Pittsburgh's offense could not get any traction going, and the defense just let the Eagles walk all over them throughout the game. To add insult to injury, the officials made some huge calls that went against the Steelers, including not flagging anyone on Philadelphia for throwing punches, a questionable roughing the snapper penalty, and a roughness call that could have allowed the Steelers to keep the ball, but was overturned during commercial break to a post-punt foul.
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Connor Heyward catches a touchdown pass against the Atlanta Falcons during the 2022 season.
On the latter option, Jalen Carter slapped the head of Connor Heyward out of nowhere. The incident happened before the Steelers could punt the ball away, which would result in an automatic first down, but replay incorrectly ruled that it happened after the fact. Video even shows the ball being booted away after the hit.
Carter out here throwing hands. #eagles #steelers pic.twitter.com/5UzoLVRqMo
— Rate the Refs App (@Rate_the_Refs) December 15, 2024
During his weekly press conference, Head Coach Mike Tomlin was asked if he was satisfied with the explanation of the incident, and he seemingly did not want to address it at all that time, as well as when he was asked about it again later on.
"I was not [satisfied]... Again, I don't want to get into specifics of what was said to me in-game or how that was administered. There's some controversy around it. I acknowledge that, but I just tend to focus my energies on the things that we can control in that environment. I know that when we play better, these discussions are less significant."
Tomlin said all the right things about the incident, and he knows that he and his team were not good enough to truly have a discussion on how bad the officials were. The decision to punt in that scenario was arguably a problem to begin with, but that was not the reason why they lost, nor was how the penalty was called.
Alysa Rubin / Pittsburgh Steelers
Steelers' Mike Tomlin looks on during the Week 15 matchup against the Eagles.
The Steelers punted the ball away with 10:40 on the clock, and the foul on Carter was only a three-yard penalty due to the ball being downed at the six-yard line. The Black and Gold never saw the ball again, as the Eagles managed to have a 21-play, 88-yard drive that ended in a kneel-down.
If the penalty had been properly assessed, the Steelers would have had 1st and 10 at the Eagles' 31-yard line. Who knows if they score on that drive or not, but the whole dynamic of the game did switch. The problem for the Steelers is that it switched up on them multiple times, and it was usually by its own hand.
On the Steelers' previous drive, the offense was moving the ball down the field, and they had some momentum after holding the Eagles to a field goal and converting a flea flicker. Unfortunately, Najee Harris broke the first rule of sports: keep your eye on the ball. He dropped the ball on a toss play and the Eagles recovered.
Steelers Have To Put This Terrible Game Behind Them Quickly
The Steelers have to rebound quickly, as they fight for the AFC North on a short week. Just because they have had their way with the Baltimore Ravens as of late doesn't mean it will be an easy game as they look ahead to Week 16.
Jared Wickerham / Pittsburgh Steelers
Steelers OLB Alex Highsmith sacks Lamar Jackson and forces a fumble during a win against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 5 of 2023.
If the Steelers beat the Ravens, they officially clinch a division title and most likely lock themselves up as the three seed in the AFC. If they lose, the division is wide open for the last two games. The Steelers would still control their own destiny based on conference record, but they still face the Kansas City Chiefs and the Cincinnati Bengals to end the year.
What do you think about Tomlin's reaction to how the officials handled Carter's head slap? Let us know in the comments.
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