We were going to post our weekly Friday “Football Footnotes” whether the Pittsburgh Steelers were in the playoffs or not.
But since they are, it sure makes things a lot more fun.
Here’s a look at a few interesting leftovers from Mike Tomlin’s Tuesday press conference, some potentially misplaced concerns about Chris Boswell, a couple of stats to keep in mind and some gambling lines to consider.
______________________________
Tomlin began his Tuesday press conference by talking about some of his team’s special teams shortcomings Sunday while beating the Baltimore.
“I thought penalties slowed our efforts. In the kickoff return, I thought we were really good from a field position perspective, but we had one ball out beyond the 40 that got negated by a penalty. We had a penalty on the punt team as well. Thankfully, on a re-kick, Corliss (Waitman) did an awesome job on the re-kick. That doesn’t always occur,” Tomlin began. “I’ve been pleased with our punting and gunning. Over the course of the season, we’ve had minimal return yards. I think we got 170 return yards in the punt return game in 17 games. That’s certainly solid. I think Sunday night was reflective of that as well.”
How does Tomlin go through that entire litany of special teams miscues and not mention Chris Boswell’s missed extra point after Calvin Austin’s late touchdown? That was the biggest play of the game.
In Steelers placekicker Chris Boswell's defense, his PAT "miss" was not a miss, it was blocked by Ravens rookie safety Keondre Jackson (#39). The box score confirms it. pic.twitter.com/XvwSKMQ10W
— Christina Rivers (@3Rivers_Writer) January 6, 2026
If it was truly tipped as the box score reflects, then the blocking up front was an issue. Or, if Boz just missed it, then that was worth noting.
Was that a psychological thing? Don’t mention it and pretend it didn’t happen, so Boz can just move on? Maybe Tomlin just didn’t want to blame Derrick Harmon and Cam Heyward for the penetration by the Baltimore special teams.
Regardless, that seemed to be a glaring omission.
______________________________
Speaking of Boswell, a lot of people are starting to panic about him because he has missed a kick per week the past three games.
I’m not.
Before that PAT, he missed a 54-yarder in Cleveland. It’s always tough to kick there. And he had one bad kick in Detroit. He also hit from 59 in Detroit and 57 versus the Ravens.
Not to mention, he miraculously recovered after a shaky snap/placement for a kick against the Browns, and most kickers would’ve gotten that PAT versus Baltimore blocked right back in their face.
I’m not as worried about Boz as many fans seem to be.
______________________________
More sports
• Aaron Rodgers relishes playoff return, says Steelers silenced Mike Tomlin’s critics• First Call: Injury updates on key Houston CBs; assistant coach from Super ’70s Steelers retires at age 87
• Pirates sign All-Star slugger Ryan O’Hearn, who touts playoff talk
______________________________
Privately, a few people at the press conference noted how quickly Tomlin moved on from a question about the importance of the Steelers having a home playoff game. It’s their first since the 2020-21 covid-19 season — and the first with a full stadium since 2017-18.
“I don’t know that we’re big picturing anything right now,” Tomlin said. “Just got a big week ahead of us, big days ahead of us. That’s just kind of where we are. That reflective big picture stuff is not realistic as I stand here. I understand why you ask the question, but when you’re in it, I just think your perspective is a lot different.”
I noticed that too. Tomlin rarely misses a chance to gas up the home fans before a big game at Acrisure Stadium.
And, as I pointed out in “First Call” on Thursday, despite Jermoe Bettis’ comments to the contrary, I thought the crowd was strong Sunday night versus the Ravens.
Could we presume Tomlin had a problem acknowledging how long it has been since they hosted a playoff game at all and kinda didn’t want to admit it?
I dunno. Or maybe he’s a little prickly over the “Fire Tomlin” chants versus Buffalo and didn’t want to dwell on any dialogue about the fans that could result in an extended conversation about how quickly the crowd’s mood could turn if the team gets off to another one of its notoriously slow starts in playoff games on Monday.
______________________________
Tomlin was also oddly short about discussing C.J. Stroud in his opening remarks.
“Got a lot of respect for C.J. Stroud and his body of work and what he’s been able to do in this league over a short period of time,” Tomlin said. “Also very respectful of the veteran presence that Davis Mills provides. I think he went 3-0 this year as a starter. He threw five touchdowns and one interception over the course of that span. I just think that when you’re able to absorb the negativity of playing without your quarterback and maintain your offensive rhythm and take care of the football, I just think that’s an asset to a collective. To be quite honest with you, I think that three-game stretch that he had was really the catalyst for this nine-game stretch that they’re on. And when they got C.J. back, they’ve just taken off from there.”
That was an awfully quick pivot to Davis Mills from C.J. Stroud, wasn’t it? I also asked Tomlin where he has seen Stroud grow since his pro day at Ohio State, and didn’t get much of a response.
“I was a bystander because I wasn’t in draft position,” Tomlin replied. “I remember specifically being at his pro day and around his pro day. It was just so much more work for me to do with the multitude of others that were coming out. I probably wouldn’t give him a fair assessment. And that happens sometimes when you’re at a place like Ohio State. There is so much to comb through in terms of depth, of the talent and the amount of talent. I don’t waste a lot of time on guys that I know realistically don’t have a chance to come to our range, if you will.”
Yet, any time the Steelers end up acquiring a former high pick from another team, Tomlin almost always references back to eyeing up that player at their pro day while they were looking at someone else they were more likely to draft. It’s usually a guarantee.
Tomlin could’ve been purposefully redirecting the conversation away from Stroud because they think they have a tell on him or a certain aspect of his game they may want to exploit.
Or Tomlin is so burned by how Stroud cut them up with 306 yards and two touchdowns as a rookie that he doesn’t want to relive that mental trauma.
If you remember that game, such a reaction would be understandable. I considered therapy myself, and I was just watching on television.
______________________________
The Steelers are 1-5 against playoff teams this year. Their point differential is minus-54 in those games. Meanwhile, the Texans have four wins against AFC playoff teams. Three of them have come during their nine-game win streak. Their four losses to playoff teams have come by a total of 23 points.
______________________________
Via my Fox Sports Pittsburgh radio partner Matt Williamson, the Texans are only in dime defense 0.3% of the time. They are in nickel 74%.
Also, he notes that Houston’s fourth-quarter point differential is plus-78. So the Steelers better not be relying on any late comebacks this time around against that top-rated defense.
______________________________
My favorite gambling line on the board is San Francisco plus-5.5 at Philadelphia from DraftKings. I’m not even sure Philly is going to win, let alone with the 49ers getting a 5.5-point cushion.
______________________________
I’m not a huge fan of the Chicago Bears in the playoff bracket. But I feel oddly confident about them at minus-1.5 versus Green Bay.
