Mike Tomlin gets roasted over controversial decision in Week 4

Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin faced some serious criticism over a decision he made late in his team’s game against the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday.

Tomlin took a very conservative approach near the end of the Steelers’ 24-21 Week 4 win over the Vikings at Croke Park in Dublin, Ireland. The Vikings had scored a touchdown with 2:08 remaining in the game and failed to recover an onside kick, which gave Pittsburgh the ball back and a chance to run the clock out if they picked up one first down.

The Steelers were stuffed on 3rd-and-1 at the Minnesota 40-yard line. Rather than trying to pick up one yard to ice the game, Tomlin opted to punt and give the ball back to the Vikings with 1:08 left.

Many people thought Tomlin was insane for not going for it on fourth down, especially since Pittsburgh was in Minnesota territory and only needed a yard. Greg Olsen ripped Tomlin on the NFL Network broadcast.

“This, to me, I’m not even considering. … It’s a no-brainer. It’s a no-brainer. You get a half-a-yard and the Minnesota Vikings never possess the ball ever again,” Olsen said. “You can’t let the 3rd-and-short play, when you don’t get any yards, you can’t let that spook you. You’ve been good all day with Kenneth Gainwell running the ball behind this offensive line and the big tackles. I don’t get it.”