The Pittsburgh Steelers barely slipped past the Las Vegas Raiders on Christmas Eve, winning a critical contest, 13-10. The victory kept the team's playoff hopes alive and they will head into a hostile environmental when they travel to face the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday Night Football. Plenty of things need to occur for the organization to make it to the postseason for the third straight season and two wins to end the year are absolutely imperative if they want a shot. One thing that almost cost Head Coach Mike Tomlin his non-losing season streak was kicker, Chris Boswell's performance on Saturday evening and he acknowledged that on Tuesday.
Steelers kicker, Chris Boswell (#9) warms up before Pittsburgh takes on the Las Vegas Raiders at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, PA during the 2021 season. | Jordan Schofield / SteelerNation (Twitter: @JSKO_PHOTO)
Boswell was placed on IR earlier in the season with a groin injury and while it's hard to speculate on how much that has affected his consistency this year, he is having his worst season in the black and gold since 2018 when many wanted the organization to move on from him. He is currently 15/22 and was 2/4 on Saturday night. Sure, the winds were howling and it was freezing, but you pay someone $20 million to hit above 90% of the time, not below 70%.
During his weekly press conference on Tuesday, Tomlin went into the special teams game and was quick to point out the missed field goals and detailed the importance of being more consistent in that area of the game:
"In the special teams game, we missed a couple kicks, man. When you're in a limited possession game, you can't do that. I was thankful that Boz was able to make a couple, but we got to have those ones and that's just the reality of it."
Steelers kicker, Chris Boswell (#9) walks on the field at St. Vincent College in Latrobe, PA during 2022 training camp. | Jordan Schofield / SteelerNation (Twitter: @JSKO_PHOTO)
Tomlin continued by transitioning into discussing the upcoming Week 17 battle against the Ravens. In a crucial divisional matchup, points come at a premium and mistakes on Boswell's end simply can't happen:
"Particularly as you lean in on a game like this one, these are always one-score types of games and leaving six points out there would be significant, and so we gotta get back to work and make sure we're really solid in that phase of the game."
He spoke much more about special teams play on Tuesday than usual because of Baltimore's secret (not so secret anymore) weapon, Justin Tucker. It very well could come down to both his and Boswell's legs:
"We're playing Baltimore and they got [Justin] Tucker and in these one-score games, you know the field positioning component of it is going to be big."
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - JANUARY 09: Justin Tucker #9 of the Baltimore Ravens kicks a field goal during the fourth quarter in the game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at M&T Bank Stadium on January 09, 2022 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Todd Olszewski/Getty Images)
As he usually does, Tomlin was very complimentary of certain areas that the team's opponents succeed in. He dove deeper into Tucker's talents and how he can determine the outcome of every game Baltimore plays:
"The kicking game, I mentioned Tucker. He's special. The field position component, their ability to score when they're at or around midfield because his talents, you have to respect."
Do you think Tomlin's criticism of Boswell's performance is justified, despite the frigid temperatures? Let us know in the comments below!
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