Steelers' Mike Tomlin can learn valuable lesson from Eagles' Nick Sirianni

The game was already out of reach for the Kansas City Chiefs, but Jalen Hurts’ 46-yard touchdown to DeVonta Smith on the first play of the drive sealed the deal. It was a knockout punch, and while it might not have been the most conventional football call (especially in that situation), it’s part of why the Eagles were in the Super Bowl in the first place. 

They’ve adapted to the modern NFL, and Sirianni wasn’t about to give Patrick Mahomes even a glimmer of a comeback. He pushed to be aggressive and finish the game decisively.

Steelers' Tomlin would've played it safe

Now, if this were the Steelers in the Super Bowl, leading by that much, there’s little doubt they would’ve run the ball three straight times and punted it back to the opposition. That approach isn’t necessarily right or wrong, but it highlights how Tomlin has often played it safe, opting for conservative decisions. Sometimes, it's OK to be aggressive and live with the results. If Sirianni can take that risk in the biggest game of his career, surely Tomlin can do the same during the regular season.

Many Steelers fans believe this conservative approach is a major reason Tomlin hasn’t won a playoff game since the 2016 season. On the flip side, there have been moments when Tomlin has been aggressive, using timeouts to give his offense a chance, only for those decisions to backfire. To be fair to Tomlin, it’s possible he feels limited by his offense's capabilities, and that’s understandable. However, if that’s truly the case, he must take responsibility for not improving it.

Other teams have faced similar challenges, yet they’ve been better equipped to rebuild and maintain strong rosters. A couple of things are clear: Tomlin and the Steelers need to be more aggressive offensively, and they must find players they trust to execute that aggression. If they don’t, they risk being left behind in an NFL that continues to evolve at an ever-faster pace.