Tomlin: Team failed to adjust to officials' 'tenor' in L.A.

Eleven times during Sunday’s game at the Los Angeles Rams, officials threw flags against the Pittsburgh Steelers. A season-high eight were accepted, and another triggered a crucial offset of a Rams penalty that would have given the Steelers an important late first down.

During his weekly news conference Tuesday, Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said his team did a poor job of adjusting to the officiating crew headed by referee Craig Wrolstad.

“Oftentimes, it’s our job to feel the tenor of a crew and adjust our behavior accordingly,” Tomlin said. “We got into that game and the officials had a certain tenor, and we didn’t adjust to it.”

Tomlin noted that, after an early-game play in which running back Najee Harris was jawing with Rams players after a whistle, officials had alerted the Steelers they were on alert for any additional like antics.

The Steelers twice were flagged for taunting in the fourth quarter. While Tomlin believes his team could have avoided such issues Sunday, not every officiating crew will be so liberal with the flags for taunting.

“So, am I worried about those issues moving forward? No, I am not,” Tomlin said. “But it’s a great opportunity to talk about learning the tenor of a crew.”

Tomlin additionally referenced the penalty on T.J. Watt for a neutral zone infraction during the third quarter, saying that many officiating crews might issue a warning or even have advised Watt to take a step back in real time in lieu of allowing him to be flagged.

The Steelers were penalized eight times for 76 yards against the Rams, each figure the second-most for the Steelers in a game since 2021.

Injury news

Inside linebacker Cole Holcomb briefly was knocked out of Sunday’s game because of an ankle injury. Though he returned against the Rams, Tomlin said the ankle “requires some attention” and that Holcomb might be limited in practice.

Running back Anthony McFarland remains on injured reserve as he recovers from a knee injury. Tomlin said McFarland “will continue to get a look” in his second week after being cleared to practice while on IR. McFarland must be activated to the 53-man roster by Nov. 6 or will be out for the season.

Tomlin said there were “no updates there” when asked about veteran defensive lineman Cameron Heyward. Heyward has been on IR since Week 1 because of a groin injury.

’Tis better to receive

Teams that win the coin toss in the NFL elect to defer possession to the second half more than 90% of the time. For the second time this season, though, on Sunday the Steelers chose to receive to begin a game.

In explaining why, Tomlin cited concerns about his team playing its first game after an idle week.

“There’s always an element of concern coming off of a bye about running out of the locker room,” Tomlin said. “I thought we warmed up to it a little bit. That’s why we intentionally took the ball. We didn’t want to give the ball to a guy like (Rams veteran quarterback) Matt Stafford to start the game.”

The math dictates deferring is the smartest move because it opens up the possibility of consecutive offensive possessions — the last of the first half and first of the second half. According to published data, teams deferred 91.9% of the time after winning the toss last season.

The Steelers also chose to receive after winning the coin toss of the Sept. 10 season opener against the San Francisco 49ers. The offense went three-and-out to begin that game, as it did Sunday against the Rams.

Practice squad shuffled

The Steelers made a pair of signings with corresponding releases from their practice squad Tuesday.

At tight end, Noah Gindorff was swapped out in favor of Scotty Washington. The Steelers also signed inside linebacker Caleb Johnson to the practice squad and released offensive lineman Obinna Eze off of it.

Johnson (6 feet 2, 227 pounds) played at three colleges but finished last season at the University of Miami. He was a priority signing of the New York Jets as an undrafted free agent but did not make the team and was released off their practice squad last month.

Washington (6-5, 225) was a wide receiver in college at Wake Forest and spent the 2020 and ’21 seasons on the Cincinnati Bengals’ practice squad after signing as an undrafted free agent. Washington spent last season on the New England Patriots practice squad but was cut at the end of training camp.

Gindorff and Eze were signed three weeks ago.

Rams release kicker

Two days after missing two field goals and an extra point during a loss to the Steelers, kicker Brett Maher was released by the Rams on Tuesday. Maher, a five-year NFL veteran of three teams, missed field goals of 53 and 51 yards, plus the conversion try after a first-quarter touchdown, against the Steelers.

Maher’s misses cost Los Angeles seven points in a game that the Steelers won 24-17.