Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin admitted he didn’t like a specific penalty that led to his team’s first loss of the season this past Sunday. It turns out that the NFL didn’t like the call either.
The penalty came late in the third quarter of Pittsburgh’s loss to the Colts after the Steelers cut their deficit to seven points. On the play, Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick was flagged 15 yards after he made contact with Colts wideout Adonai Mitchell on a second-and-10 play. The penalty helped the Colts score a touchdown on that drive en route to an eventual 27-24 victory.
“I didn’t like that call,” Tomlin said during his weekly press conference. “I talked to New York yesterday. They didn’t like that call either, but it doesn’t help me on Monday.”
While Tomlin was diplomatic Tuesday, several of his players — including Fitzpatrick — struggled to hide their frustration over the penalty after the game.
“I thought we were playing football,” Fitzpatrick said, via the Tribune-Review. “I don’t know what we’re playing right now. A very different game than what I grew up playing and grew up loving. Can’t hit anybody hard. Can’t be violent. Don’t know what to say anymore. .”
“That was an abomination,” added fellow safety DeShon Elliott, via 93.7 The Fan. “I don’t care. That was BS… That was legal. He didn’t do anything malicious. Didn’t even hit him in the head. Hit him right in the shoulder. If anything, he let it go.”
If you haven’t seen it, here’s a look at the play that drew the ire of Pittsburgh’s defensive backs. As you can see, Fitzpatrick did seem to let go after the ball had already flown past Mitchell. But Fitzpatrick was unable to avoid making contact with Mitchell, thus leading to the 15-yard penalty.
While it won’t change the impact of Sunday’s game, it’s at least something NFL apparently admitted it wasn’t the right call. Bad calls, Tomlin said, are simply a part of football, and it’s up to him and his players to overcome calls that don’t go their way.
“We still had a lot of chances to win that game, after that call especially,” Tomlin said. “The officials aren’t perfect. None of us are. We make mistakes in the game that we have to overcome, and if they make mistakes in the game, you better be ready to overcome that too. That’s what you learn as an individual. and a team when occasions like this happen.”
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