For years, Mike Tomlin has waded through a dramatically changing NFL by weaponizing a defense that bucks normally luck-adjusted statistics like turnover margin (the Pittsburgh Steelers haven’t finished the season with a negative one since 2018) while most teams have shuffled through one offensive soothsayer after another. But on Sunday, we also saw him weaponize the tools at his own disposal to completely short-circuit a Baltimore Ravens team that had two late chances to tie and/or win the game.
The first was on the potential game-tying two-point conversion with 1:06 left. Tomlin allowed the Baltimore Ravens to partially reveal what appeared to be a jump-pass before burning one of his remaining timeouts. This forced the Ravens to switch to their Plan B, which very clearly caused some issues that were made evident by Isaiah Likely and Nelson Agholor hand-fighting while lining up next to each other and switching spots in the slot. The result was a play in which Agholor got pushed back off the ball and clogged a pair of pulling blockers who were supposed to shield the way for Lamar Jackson as he rolled out to search for a clean throw or running lane.
