The Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers appeared to be headed for overtime on Sunday night after Lamar Jackson found Sammy Watkins for a touchdown as time expired. John Harbaugh had other plans, however, which was no surprise to Mike Tomlin.
Tomlin said after Pittsburgh’s 20-19 win that he knew the Ravens would attempt a two-point conversion after they scored. The Steelers coach said Harbaugh’s reliance on analytics makes Baltimore “predictable.”
Harbaugh trusted his offense to get two yards to win the game. The analytics likely said that Baltimore’s best chance of winning was to try to pick up those two yards rather than kicking an extra point and heading to overtime. The play call was also perfect, and the Ravens would have won had Jackson made a more accurate throw (video here).
Tomlin probably wasn’t trying to take a shot at the Ravens by calling them “predictable,” but don’t be surprised if they interpret it as one. The two teams will meet again in their final game of the regular season on Jan. 9.
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