The Pittsburgh Steelers suffered an embarrassing loss at the hands of the Cleveland Browns on Thursday night. It was a tough time for a divisional battle coming on a short week, and Pittsburgh couldn’t escape the state of Ohio with a win. They faced a deficit for the majority of the game before taking a one point lead in the fourth quarter, but the Browns were able to bounce back by scoring a game-winning touchdown. Pittsburgh’s offense faltered a ton throughout the game, particularly in short yardage situations.

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Steelers’ Mike Tomlin stands with team captains during the National Anthem in 2024.

Thursday night seemed to be a rough outing for Tomlin. There were numerous instances where he seemed to mishandle situations in the crushing loss to Cleveland. After the game, the coach faced the media, where he was asked about the questionable decisions he made throughout the contest. He was also asked about the continued failure in short yardage situations, where he didn’t seem to have an answer.

“You know, I’d have to take a look at it,” Tomlin said. “But more than anything, I thought they [Cleveland] brought it tonight in those instances. Particularly there early on.”

Pittsburgh’s offense struggled to stay on the field during the first half, and the unit couldn’t convert in short yardage situations. The team turned the ball over on downs twice during the game, and in each instance, it was the offense failing to convert on fourth and short. This has been a reoccurring theme for the 2024 Steelers, and the fact that the team just finished their 11th game of the season and Tomlin still doesn’t have a reason for the shortcomings is embarrassing.

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Steelers’ Justin Fields looks to run during a loss to the Cleveland Browns in 2024.

The Steelers first turned the ball over on downs after failing to convert on a fourth and two on their second possession of the game. It was the right call to go for it as they were on Cleveland’s side of the field and well shy of field goal range due to the poor weather conditions, but the execution was atrocious. Pittsburgh put Justin Fields in the game at quarterback and he had nowhere to run, and was stopped for a loss.

The second occasion came in the second half on Pittsburgh’s first drive. This time, it was more of a questionable decision to go for it as the offense was at their own 45-yard line. They attempted to run up the middle with Jaylen Warren, but once again, Pittsburgh was stopped for a loss and the play set the Browns up with great field position.

This isn’t the first time the Steelers have struggled to gain a yard or two on critical downs. It has been an issue throughout the entire year and it doesn’t seem like the team has made any progress on fixing the issue. Instead of taking accountability, Tomlin instead chose to praise the Browns for their efforts. All around it seemed like a bad night for Tomlin, and he capped it off by failing to take accountability during his postgame press conference.

USA Today

Steelers’ Mike Tomlin looks on after big win over the New York Jets.

Steelers See Tomlin’s Weaknesses Come To Light Once Again

Tomlin has been praised a ton for his coaching job throughout the 2024 season, as he should be. He has his team in first place in the division with a strong 8-3 record, but he showed why he is often questioned by the fan base on Thursday night. The coach had questionable timeout usage at the end of the first half, along with a litany of other questionable decisions.

These issues seem to be the same ones that continue to plague Tomlin, and it always happens during these winnable games late in the season. There is no question that he is one of the best head coaches in the NFL, but Thursday was a perfect example of why the fan base gets so upset with the future Hall of Famer from time to time.

What did you think about Tomlin’s answer? Let us know in the comments below!