NFL Week 17 Coaching Decisions: Mike Tomlin Stays Aggressive to Help Steelers Win

Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin has been criticized the past few seasons for his sluggish offenses. But there was nothing conservative about the Steelers’ approach during the 30–23 victory against the Seattle Seahawks.

“Hey, Sully, I don’t want to get conservative,” a mic'd up Tomlin told offensive play-caller Mike Sullivan in the final two minutes in Seattle. “They’ve been pounding that run. Rhythm pass, play to win.”

After punishing the Seahawks’ defense on the ground, the Steelers fooled them into thinking a run play was going to start their final drive with a seven-point advantage in hand and two minutes left in regulation. Instead, Mason Rudolph hit George Pickens for a 24-yard completion that forced Seattle to burn a timeout before killing the clock and sealing the victory to keep Pittsburgh’s playoff hopes alive.

The Steelers had a fruitful game plan by generating 202 rushing yards, primarily from the rushing duo of Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren, to open up the passing game for Rudolph and Pickens, who recorded seven catches for 131 yards.

Turns out, the stone-aged Steelers’ offense knows how to produce points and yards with a productive quarterback. Rudolph has given the Steelers a boost the past two games after replacing the struggling Mitchell Trubisky and the injured Kenny Pickett. The Steelers recorded a season-high 468 yards vs. the Seahawks and reached 30 points for the second time this season, with the other coming the week prior during the 34–11 victory against the Cincinnati Bengals. Tomlin made the right decision to stick with Rudolph over the now healthy Pickett for the Week 18 road matchup against the Baltimore Ravens.

Tomlin also clinched his 17th consecutive season with a winning record. That should silence those who say the Steelers need to move on from one of the most successful NFL coaches of the past two decades. The Steelers (9–7) could possibly clinch a playoff spot by defeating the top-seeded Ravens in Saturday’s regular-season finale. But they would also need the Buffalo Bills or Jacksonville Jaguars to lose this week, to name a few scenarios.

We’ll soon find out whether Tomlin turned to Rudolph too late in the season, but the Steelers have done plenty right in the past two weeks. Here are other coaching decisions we liked and didn’t like during Week 17 in the NFL.

Call we liked

Lions’ fake punt vs. Cowboys

There was plenty of drama in the final minutes of the Dallas Cowboys’ 20–19 victory over the Detroit Lions. But Detroit nearly snapped Dallas’s lengthy home-game winning streak (it’s now at 16 consecutive victories) with a few aggressive calls earlier in the game.

Lions coach Dan Campbell was determined to gain momentum on an 11-play, 76-yard drive that, unfortunately for them, ended with no points in the second quarter. Campbell ignited the drive on a fake punt that was turned into a 31-yard play, but the third-year coach got greedy on a fourth-and-goal from the 4-yard line that was stopped short.

One call worked and the other didn’t, but it’s tough to criticize Campbell for attempting to ignite his offense. The downside of being an aggressive team is that bold plays can either drastically increase the odds of winning or losing games depending on the results.

Calls we questioned

Lions pass on overtime with multiple two-point attempts

Campbell might be the only coach who can make a double appearance under “calls we liked” and “calls we questioned” on any given week.

I loved the Lions’ initial two-point conversion attempt because Campbell stuck with the team’s identity, an aggressive approach that has led to more good than bad. But after how much of a mess the first try caused, Campbell should have adjusted and taken his chances in overtime. The Lions were too emotional and were backed up to the 7-yard line because of the controversial illegal touch pass penalty.

Campbell passed on the extra-point attempt a third time, but that one was more understandable because they gained the yards back on the Cowboys’ offsides penalty. At some point, you gotta read the signs and realize the two-point conversion wasn’t meant to be.

Raiders get too conservative vs. Colts

Las Vegas Raiders interim coach Antonio Pierce has made many right decisions since his promotion, but he made a few questionable decisions in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s 23–20 loss in Indianapolis.

With a 17–10 deficit early in the fourth quarter, Pierce passed on going for a fourth-and-4 from the Colts’ 45-yard line. He could have also opted for a lengthy field goal of roughly 55-plus yards, which was in Daniel Carlson’s range, especially in the indoor venue. Instead, the Raiders punted, leading to the Colts adding a field goal to extend their lead to 20–10 with 7:34 left in regulation.

Later, Pierce opted for the field goal with the Raiders facing a fourth-and-6 from the Colts’ 15-yard line to make the deficit 20–13 with 4:35 left in regulation. With the Raiders falling by three points, Pierce could have used a touchdown during the two conservative drives in the fourth quarter.

Eagles’ messy drive vs. Cardinals

Philadelphia Eagles coach Nick Sirianni and offensive coordinator Brian Johnson made some strange calls on the drive that ended with Philly taking a go-ahead field goal and asking their struggling defense to keep the Cardinals out of the end zone. They couldn’t, as the Cardinals finished the upset victory, 35–31.

The Eagles faced a first-and-20 from the Cardinals’ 30-yard line with the game tied 28–28 and 4:13 left in regulation. Johnson continued by calling two run plays that gained a combined one yard. On third-and-19, Jalen Hurts threw a short four-yard pass to running back Kenneth Gainwell.

The obvious occurred after the Eagles settled for a field goal. Kyler Murray and James Conner marched Arizona on a seven-play, 70-yard touchdown drive to record the game-winning score. The Eagles’ offense had no response with 32 seconds remaining and no timeouts left.