During Part 3 of this series I wrote specifically on the dilemma of challenging the spot of the ball. Four of the nine consecutive challenges that Mike Tomlin has lost in 2017 and 2018 were on spot challenges.
His next two challenges that were upheld in 2018 were both spot challenges in tight games: One against the Bengals on the road, and the other against the Chargers on Sunday night football:
Here’s how this is going to work: I’m going to break down each challenge play and to explain how the challenge came about, the result of why the call was upheld and grade Tomlin’s decision.
Considering he won none of these challenges, the grades per each challenge are between “Bad challenge” if Tomlin had little to no merit on the challenge, “Reasonable” if it was a tough call and the challenge made sense, or “Blown call” if you can definitively see it was a bad call by the official on the review.
Oct. 14, 2018: Steelers at Bengals, 28-21 Win
Second quarter
When it was tied 7-7, Ben Roethlisberger threw a quick pass to Ryan Switzer just short of the line to gain. Switzer put the ball in his right hand as Darqueze Dennard made the tackle. Switzer had to reach the 20 and it looked like that's exactly where he landed upon being tackled.
But the officials spotted Switzer where he slid to after landing. Tomlin sent out his punt team and waited as long as he could before throwing the challenge flag. But with only a couple angles showed on the Bengals' scoreboard, Tomlin wagered on the call with only his first timeout at stake:
Decision: Reasonable
From the angles available in the 40 seconds after the play, Tomlin didn't have much to go on other than the sideline view. Considering the low cost and the situation, his challenge wasn't a poor decision. There was some debate on whether his missed challenge here impacted his decision to not challenge another spot call that later went against James Conner, but it ultimately didn't matter.
Dec. 12, 2018: Steelers vs. Chargers, 33-30 Loss
Fourth quarter
After the Steelers allowed a comeback by the Chargers, Roethlisberger tried leading a comeback of his own. During the fourth quarter, he completed a pass to Juju Smith-Schuster at the line to gain. Smith-Schuster initially fell right where he needed to land, but his momentum carried him back a half yard before being downed by Michael Davis:
Decision: Bad challenge
Tomlin had the benefit of the Heinz Field scoreboard and the video evidence was clear that Smith-Schuster slid backward and was short of the line to gain. Not only was that determinable, but it cost the Steelers a timeout in the second half of a close game they lost.
Even though the timeout might not have helped them, as it was the Chargers looking to score at the end of regulation, it was still a risk that could've been avoided.
Tomorrow we take a look at the final challenge from Tomlin from 2019, evaluate the decision and compile all the data from this series for some final thoughts.
MORE CARTER’S CLASSROOM
July 17: Tomlin's challenge woes, Part 3
July 16: Tomlin’s challenge woes, Part 2
July 15: Tomlin’s challenge woes, Part 1
July 12: Chickillo’s the failsafe at OLB
