Mike Tomlin laments not kicking field goal, explains call on failed 4th-and-1 play

If he had known the outcome of the fourth-down play, Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin would have trotted out kicker Chris Boswell to attempt a long field goal near the end of the third quarter last Sunday afternoon in Houston.

“But I don’t get do-overs,” Tomlin said Tuesday.

So, Tomlin had to live with the decision to have quarterback Kenny Pickett line up in the shotgun on fourth-and-1 at the Houston 33, with his team trailing by 10 points, and attempt a pass that never happened.

Pickett not only was sacked for an 8-yard loss, but he also sustained a knee injury that forced him from the game.

The Steelers went on to lose, 30-6.

Boswell had kicked short field goals on the previous two possessions to trim the Steelers’ deficit to 16-6. But Tomlin decided that with 16 minutes remaining, the Steelers needed to try to get a touchdown.

“At some point, you draw a line in the dirt,” he said. “We had momentum and rhythm. … I wanted to win that circumstance and keep the pressure on. And, obviously when that play wasn’t successful, it negated what other rhythm that we had established. It really was a significant play in terms of the trajectory of the game.”

Tomlin said the decision to call a pass play in that situation “wasn’t a good call because it wasn’t productive.”

He explained his rationale for not attempting a run play even though Najee Harris had 55 yards rushing in the quarter after a sluggish first half. It related to injuries to left tackle Dan Moore Jr. and tight end Pat Freiermuth.

“We lost a lot of short-yardage personality,” he said. “We lost all of our big packages. Broderick Jones was already on the field, so we probably had to get out of our intended box in that circumstance because of lack of player ability.”