Mike Tomlin is the biggest coward in the NFL.
In what looked like a rare Steelers blowout win, the longest-tenured head coach in major American sports couldn’t allow that to happen and did all he could to ensure the Week 4 contest between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Minnesota Vikings came down to the final possession.
On fourth and half a football with just over a minute remaining, the Steelers had a chance to put the game on ice, despite a late Vikings rally. Instead, Mike Tomlin opted to punt the ball,
because of course he did. Corliss Waitman then sent the ball to Denmark on the punt, as it flew out of the back of the end zone. A near interception and an intentional grounding call on Carson Wentz later, and the Steelers preserved the 24-21 win to get to 3-1 going into the bye week.
Despite the best efforts of Tomlin, there was a ton to love with the Steelers on both sides of the ball. For starters, Aaron Rodgers and DK Metcalf had by far their best day as a duo. An 80-yard touchdown highlighted a five-catch, 126-yard day for Metcalf, marking his first 100-yard performance as a Steeler. Additionally, the 80-yard touchdown was the longest touchdown pass of the NFL season thus far.
Rodgers himself had his most efficient game as a Steeler, going 18-of-22 for 200 yards and the touchdown to Metcalf. The quick game was really working for the Steelers, as Metcalf was utilized both out wide and in the slot, which was one of the many elements working in a balanced attack from Arthur Smith and Co.
Kenneth Gainwell stepped in for Jaylen Warren, who was a surprise inactive with a knee injury, and rushed for 99 yards and two scores. The Steelers ran for 131 yards as a team on 4.5 yards per carry. This is the type of efficient offense they are capable of. Third-down efficiency wasn’t spectacular at 4-of-10 on the day, but several of those came in scoring position and didn’t lead to a ton of punts. They moved the ball well, both through the air and on the ground, and dominated the first 57 minutes of the game.
Defensively, it was the most complete performance Pittsburgh has had. The raw box score won’t tell that story, but 81 of Wentz’s 350 yards came on a blown coverage play to Jordan Addison. The Steelers sacked Carson Wentz seven times, which is the most sacks they’ve had in a game in three years, and Nick Herbig continues to look like the star he is. He had another 1.5 sacks and continues to show he is the rightful starter opposite Watt. Keeanu Benton had his best game of the season with 1.5 sacks of his own. Patrick Queen and Payton Wilson also played tremendous games, especially Wilson, with the hustle play to track down Jordan Addison on a busted coverage to prevent a touchdown.
The Steelers led 24-6 in the fourth quarter. But of course, it couldn’t be easy. After the Vikings made it 24-14, the Steelers got inside the five-yard line where they decided to go for it on fourth down, even though Mike Tomlin originally sent out the field goal unit because, again, of course he did. And while the Steelers went for it, they made the questionable decision to run the ball from the four rather than put the ball in Rodgers’ hands. Arthur Smith spoke about getting Darnell Washington the ball more close to the red zone – that felt like a pretty great opportunity to do just that. The aforementioned blown coverage led to an eventual Vikings’ score to make it 24-21 after a touchdown and two-point conversion. The Steelers outplayed the Vikings for the majority of the game, but coaching got in the way, as it usually does.
In totality, there were a lot more positives than negatives in terms of the on-field product, which we’ll highlight in Varsity and Junior-Varsity on Monday. The biggest positive, though, is that the Steelers won a game they weren’t expected to win and got to 3-1 ahead of the bye, and have now set themselves up with a great opportunity to get to 4-1 when they play the Browns at home in Week 6.
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