The Pittsburgh Steelers had a great chance to win the AFC North in Week 17, but they came out slow and soft against the Cleveland Browns and eventually lost 13-6. The frustrating thing about it is that many fans saw this loss coming from a mile away, especially since Huntington Bank Stadium has been Pittsburgh's kryptonite in recent years. Now, one more loss will cause the team to miss the playoffs. If that does happen, everyone will look back at the defeat to the 3-12 team that had been eliminated from the postseason for many weeks.
Matt Freed / Post-Gazette
Steelers' Mike Tomlin coaching his unit during a game against the Cleveland Browns.
To make things worse, Head Coach Mike Tomlin ran away from accountability. During his typical Tomlin Tuesday press conference, he made a point to throw one of his star players under the bus, even though the coach should be the one accepting fault for that disaster of a game.
"When a game is going like that, usually you look for a splash play or two, maybe from defense or special teams to kickstart you and give you a leg up," Tomlin explained. "Although our defense and special teams were solid, we missed out on those game-changing or momentum-changing plays. I thought we had one two minutes or so before halftime. [Nick] Herbig had his hands on a ball in our left flat, and he certainly had an opportunity to run it back had he caught it."
Yes, it is true that edge rusher Nick Herbig did have a dropped interception in the game, and that play does hurt. However, putting the blame on him for not capitalizing during that moment, especially while not owning up to some questionable coaching decisions in that very same game, has many fans uneasy about the coach's statements.
Nick Smith / Pittsburgh Steelers
Steelers linebacker Nick Herbig makes a tackle during Pittsburgh's 31-28 loss to the Chicago Bears in Week 12 of the 2025 NFL season.
Herbig has had his fair share of splash plays, but they came from him doing what he's good at: rushing the quarterback. He doesn't play a position where catching the ball is a consistent feat. In fact, the Steelers teach their pass rushers to knock the ball down when they don't go to the quarterback, as multiple players have confirmed in the past. Herbig does however have one career interception, which came earlier in the 2025 season.
Regardless, the Steelers did get their game-changing defensive splash plays, but they did absolutely nothing with them. Before that drive, edge rusher Jack Sawyer caught a pass that was perfectly deflected to him and ran it back into field goal range where the offense opted to run a questionable play on 4th and 1. The play was a go route to Scotty Miller, as opposed to a tush push or a field goal to make it a 10-9 game.
Karl Roser / Pittsburgh Steelers
Steelers Offensive Coordinator Arthur Smith as he stands near Head Coach Mike Tomlin during a 2024 practice at the UPMC Sports Complex in Pittsburgh, PA.
On top of that, Sawyer got the interception because it was an easy play with no one around, as it got deflected into the air and fell perfectly into his lap, while Herbig had to make a contested catch on the run, which he does not do often. Safety Kyle Dugger also had an interception in the game, but the Steelers punted it after getting just one first down.
Steelers' Tomlin Keeps Deflecting Blame To Others Around Him
Tomlin running away from accountability is nothing new. He has blamed losses on things like Steelers fans, an X-ray machine, a plane delay, and other unrelated things. At the end of the day, he is the head coach, so when the team has a major collapse, he has to be the one to shoulder at least some of the blame and learn from it, as opposed to finger-pointing.
What do you think about Tomlin seemingly blaming Herbig for the loss to the Browns? Let us know in the comments or on X at @Steelers_ChrisB.
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