Steelers coach Mike Tomlin thought his offense got in its own way during the first half of Sunday night’s game against the Cowboys. With Pittsburgh trailing 6-3 at halftime, Tomlin had a humorous way of putting it while speaking to NBC’s Melissa Stark.
“We’ve gotta stop kicking our own butt,” the coach said. “No disrespect to the Cowboys, but one of those drives got stalled by two pre-snap penalties. We had a fumble that killed us in field position in another series. If we stop kicking our own butt, we can start focusing on theirs.”
In addition to the penalties, Pittsburgh struggled to get things going through the air. Justin Fields finished the first half just 4-of-9 passing for 35 yards and was sacked three times.
The lone bright spot was the Steelers defense, which forced a pair of turnovers and held Dallas without a touchdown. That included the 100th career sack for defensive lineman TJ Watt as he forced a fumble from Dak Prescott.
“None of us are surprised by what we see from him, but it doesn’t mean that we don’t appreciate it,” Tomlin said of the milestone for Watt. “It’s not a lightning strike. It’s earned. He does it every day with his approach to business and we’re thankful to be a part of what he’s doing.”
