Steelers' Tomlin 'comfortable' with game plan after loss to Jaguars
Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin invited criticism of his game plan following Sunday's 45-42 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The Steelers were seven-point favorites entering Sunday's contest, but an upstart Jaguars team completed the upset and will face the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship Game.
Tomlin invited observers to share their concerns about Sunday's game, though said he wouldn't comment on hypothetical scenarios.
"Have at it," Tomlin told reporters during a series of postgame questions about his coaching choices, according to Mark Maske of The Washington Post. "I'm comfortable with what we called. We didn't execute it. I'm not addressing the possibilities."
Many wondered why the Steelers opted for an onside kick after a Le'Veon Bell fourth-quarter touchdown - a decision that allowed the Jaguars to eventually kick a field goal that sealed their victory. The Steelers were also criticized for not using Ben Roethlisberger on quarterback sneaks during two separate fourth-and-1 scenarios. The six-time Pro Bowler was confused by that too.
Is Ben Roethlisberger willing to run a QB sneak? "I'm for it."
— Aditi Kinkhabwala (@AKinkhabwala) January 14, 2018
And the reason that one wasn't called on either of the #Steelers' fourth-and-a-foots? "That's over my head."
Reminder: Roethlisberger is 18-of-19 when running on fourth down in his career.
Tomlin said he was disappointed but not necessarily shocked by the loss.
"I'm a competitor," Tomlin said. "We're in a competitive business. I wouldn't say it’s shock. I wouldn't say it's hurt, either. It's just unfortunate we didn't get the job done. You can characterize it however you want. We understand the business we're in. We embrace it. We live for it. But we didn't get it done."