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Mike Tomlin Says Penalties Were a 'Joke' in Steelers Win: 'I'm Pissed About It'
October 8, 2018
Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin complained about the penalties called after his team's 41-17 win over the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday.
Per ESPN.com's Jeremy Fowler, Tomlin explained why he thinks the some of the flags being thrown are hurting the NFL.
"We gotta get better as a National Football League," he said. "Man, these penalties are costing people games and jobs. We gotta get 'em correct. And so I'm pissed about it, to be quite honest with you. But that's all I'm gonna say on it."
The Steelers and Falcons were each called for seven penalties on Sunday, but one source of contention involved separate roughing-the-passer calls against T.J. Watt and Jon Bostic.
Fowler noted Watt's penalty in the second quarter came after he made an effort to shift weight to avoid the lower half of Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan.
Per SB Nation's Christian D'Andrea, there were a total of 38 roughing-the-passer penalties called through the first four weeks of the season. The average of 9.50 per week is up significantly from the 2017 season (6.24) and nearly double the total from two years ago (5.00).
Tomlin has served on the NFL's competition committee since 2013. The group proposed additional rules for roughing the passer and protecting players in a defenseless position as part of its changes prior to this season.
Per Mark Maske of the Washington Post, there is strong sentiment among the competition committee that the rules for roughing the passer should be enforced differently to reduce unnecessary calls during games.