The Steelers’ Christmas Day loss against the Chiefs was in good part their own doing. With costly turnovers, untimely penalties, shaky special teams play, and a defense that couldn’t lay a glove on Patrick Mahomes, the home team barely got going. One of the talking points from the game was the sloppy interception involving a returning George Pickens and Russell Wilson. While Mike Tomlin said that the performance by his side, “sucked,” he couldn’t escape blame for his own mistakes.

With this loss, the Steelers rounded off a miserable end to the year losing three games on the stretch that saw their grip on the AFC North loosen with the Ravens taking over. This run has been highlighted by defensive frailties. After having three takeaways each in four games, their last three games have yielded only three takeaways. They had no sacks or turnovers to show for as Mahomes and Co. marched to the top seed for the AFC playoffs with a 29-10 win. But it could have been a different story, had Tomlin made the right decisions at the right time.

The HC has been under fire for his decisions in the previous weeks especially to punt on critical 4th downs. It took some disgruntled fans to really increase the heat when he made an error in judgment in the third quarter. Chiefs WR Marquise Brown initially appeared to have completed a pass from Patrick Mahomes with the ball stuck between the crook of his arm and the grass as he rolled under Cory Trice, but taking a look from another angle showed that the ball seemingly hit the ground, causing it to come out of Brown’s hands.

This qualified for an incomplete catch, yet there was no challenge flag from Tomlin. The Chiefs hurriedly ran a subsequent play, so that Tomlin could not throw a late challenge. Steelers safety DeShon Elliott did signal incomplete, a call that the refs didn’t agree with. And the fact that Tomlin didn’t call it did cost the Steelers eventually as the Chiefs would go on to score a touchdown on the same drive, following Brown’s catch. To be fair to Tomlin, had he challenged the catch and it was overturned, the Chiefs would still have had the opportunity to convert for another first down on the next play. Still, Tomlin’s decision-making throughout the game was questionable.

With the clock ticking down and the Steelers facing a 4th & 2, Tomlin made the surprise call to punt the ball away. This demonstrated a lack of urgency and suggested that the HC may have given up on the game long before his players did. But then, Tomlin kept the starters in the game even after the punt despite the team clearly being out of contention, putting his star players’s health at risk.

For Mike Tomlin, there was more reason to worry as not even the return of George Pickens to the side proved to be of any help. In fact, Pickens was partially to be blamed for the Steelers not getting on the scoreboard while being 13-0 down in the first quarter. A pass from Russell Wilson seemed to be there for Pickens to catch, but instead, he stopped in his route and allowed Chiefs safety Justin Reid to make the interception. While the Steelers managed to get on the scoreboard later, they never threatened the defending champions.

With this loss, the Steelers have now ended the year with three defeats on the bounce and have relinquished control in the AFC North. Within a period of three games, they have gone from contenders to pretenders. Their last game is against the Bengals and it is a must-win for them fi they are to clinch the division title. They will also be relying on a favor from the Texans against the Ravens.

Still, their playoff chances have been muddled and perhaps the only redemption for Tomlin will be a deep postseason run. For now, the fans have come out with pitchforks over the HC’s failure to challenge the penalty in the third quarter.

Mike Tomlin under fire as the Steelers face playoff uncertainty

Following the defeat to the Chiefs, Mike Tomlin didn’t hold back on the shortcomings of his side. “That sucked, to be blunt,” he said. “You can look at it from a lot of angles. The bottom line is junior varsity is not good enough. We’ve got to own that. But we’ve also got to look at what it is we need to do different. We’re not going to continue to do the same things and hope for a different result. That doesn’t seem sharp to me.” 

Tomlin is right about the need to improve, especially in the defense. They still have the second-best turnover margin in the NFL, but had none against the Chiefs. But the team’s deficiencies were secondary for many fans who came down hard on Tomlin.

Fans weren’t holding back after Mike Tomlin didn’t challenge what seemed like a clear penalty during the Chiefs game. One fan asked, “Why not challenge it? That’s on Tomlin.” A lot of people were feeling like this was a missed chance to change the momentum, especially with the team’s recent poor run.

Another fan threw some shade at Tomlin, saying, “Try to blame the refs but your coach couldn’t get his red flag out of his pants in time. Tough luck for y’all.’ It was a pretty funny way to put it, but also a fair shot at Tomlin for not acting fast enough. Even though the Chiefs’ O-line had penalties, including one that stopped a scoring drive, people felt like the Steelers missed an easy chance to capitalize.

While Tomlin has to be held accountable, the NFL cannot escape the blame. NFL replay assist was also called out by several fans who pointed out the failure to overturn what appeared to be an obvious mistake.

A fan noted, “What happened the play before? No replay assist???” But Tomlin continued to be a target for the Pittsburgh fanbase. A fan tweeted, “Mike Tomlin and not knowing when to challenge is so sad man. Never seen someone who’s regarded as a great coach have such a glaring flaw in big moments.”

A fan said, “They just ran the play fast enough… take a timeout or challenge it if it’s so clear.” One fan was straight up like, “Blame Big Mike for being a statue and not challenging.”

The pressure is mounting for Tomlin. Had they managed to win one of the last three games, they would have been comfortably sitting at the top of AFC North. While they have already clinched a spot in the postseason where exactly they will be seeded is still up in the air. There is one last chance for Tomlin to get the fans on his side against the Bengals. A win there would bring some relief as the Steelers look to turn a new page in the new year.