On Sunday afternoon, the Pittsburgh Steelers mounted a successful comeback win over the Los Angeles Rams thanks in part to some huge plays by wide receivers Diontae Johnson and George Pickens. Having said that, both guys also negated two of their own huge plays with completely unnecessary taunting penalties.
Pickens penalty negated a long reception. Johnson’s penalty came after a big play and a penalty by the Rams and forced the team to replay the down. After the game, Tomlin addressed the penalties by saying they must learn and grow from them. He also said, “I’d rather say whoa, than sic ’em.”
If you want to point to a reason why this team can’t play consistent football, it is this mentality. Tomlin doesn’t want to address the tough issues within the team. It’s easy for him to deflect because the team won but this won’t always be the case. We saw the same thing when Antonio Brown used to do what Brown does. When asked he typically dismissed it and indicated he would not address it with him at all. Why? Because he’s a talent.
Let’s hope this doesn’t need to be addressed again at any point in the season where childish moves like these cost the Steelers a game. The fact is this team isn’t good enough to pile on immature play on top of everything else.
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