Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin acknowledged that he did not like a specific penalty that factored into his team's first loss of this season this past Sunday. It turns out that the NFL didn't like the call, either.
The penalty occurred late in the third quarter of Pittsburgh's loss to the Colts after the Steelers had 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 win.
"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 as well, but it doesn't help me on a Monday."
While Tomlin was diplomatic Tuesday, several of his players -- Fitzpatrick included -- struggled to hide their frustration regarding 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 at this point. Very different game from what I grew up playing and grew up loving. Can't hit nobody hard. Can't be violent. Don't know what to say anymore."
"That was bullshit," added fellow safety DeShon Elliott, via 93.7 The Fan. "I don't care. That was BS. ... That was legal. He did nothing malicious. Didn't even hit him in the head. Hit him right in the shoulder. If anything, he let up."
In case you haven't seen it, here's a look at the play that has drawn the ire of Pittsburgh's defensive backs. As you can see, Fitzpatrick did appear to be letting up 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.
This was called unnecessary roughness on minkah fitzpatrick going full speed lmaoo nfl is so soft pic.twitter.com/oLVGSx662D
— John (@iam_johnw) September 29, 2024
While it won't change the impact of Sunday's game, it's at least something the NFL apparently acknowledged that it was not the right call. Bad calls, Tomlin said, are simply part of football, and it's on him and his players to overcome calls that don't go their way.
"We still had a lot of opportunity to win that game, after that call in particular," Tomlin said. "The officials aren't perfect. None of us are. We make mistakes in game that we have to overcome, and if they make a mistake in game, you better be prepared to overcome that as well. That's what you learn as an individual and a collective when instances such as that occur."
