Through Week 11, Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin is a top choice for the NFL coach of the year award because of how he’s managed the team’s quarterback position and locker room this season. But at the end of the team’s 18-16 victory against the Baltimore Ravens, he showed he could be a candidate for the coach of the year award for his in-game decisions as well.
At the 1:06 mark of the fourth quarter, the Ravens needed a 2-point conversion to tie the score. But they didn’t get to run their play before Tomlin called a timeout.
The timeout came so close to the start of the snap, though, that the Ravens actually began running the play before they realized the officials blew the play dead.
Tomlin planned it exactly that way. With the late whistle, he saw the beginning of what Baltimore planned to run. It appeared as though Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson was going to try a jump-pass to score the two points.
“It did kind of look like that, didn’t it?” Tomlin said coyly to reporters on November 18.
When asked a follow-up question on whether he had “Jackson jump-pass” on his mind during the timeout, Tomlin bluntly replied with only five words.
“You’re damn right I did,” he said.
After the timeout, the Ravens ran a different 2-point play, which the Steelers stopped. Pittsburgh then milked the rest of the clock on the next offensive possession to hold onto a 2-point victory.
Steelers’ Mike Tomlin Explained Why He Called a Timeout Before Ravens’ 2-pointer
Calling a defensive timeout before one play that’s likely to determine the outcome of the game can be tricky. While it can assist a defense in getting into a better position to stop one formation, it also allows the offense another opportunity to change their play.
But whether or not Baltimore was going to change its play after the timeout, Tomlin viewed the pause before the pivotal 2-point try as an advantage for his defense.
