The Pittsburgh Steelers suffered their worst loss of the season in Week 12 when they lost to the Cleveland Browns on Thursday Night Football. The Browns came into the game with just two wins on the season and Pittsburgh did what fans have grown accustomed to, which is playing down to inferior opponents. This should have been an easily winnable game for Pittsburgh, but the team struggled throughout the contest in every phase of the game. The Steelers made a late comeback in the fourth quarter, but ultimately came up short as they lost 24-19.
Head Coach Mike Tomlin is undoubtedly one of the best coaches in the NFL, but he certainly has his weaknesses. Pittsburgh has consistently played down to its competition and lost winnable games. During the 2023 season, the Steelers lost games later in the year to a pair of two-win teams in the Arizona Cardinals and the New England Patriots.
Tomlin catches a lot of heat for losses like these, although great teams all around the league struggle with these games, and teams that theoretically should be easy to beat.
Tomlin has been under fire for the loss to the Browns, but there were plenty of upsets and close calls throughout the entire NFL in Week 12. Every player in the NFL is a professional that gets paid to play the game, and any team can beat anyone on any given Sunday. The Steelers aren't the only team that struggles when playing inferior opponents, especially when those opponents are within the division.
In Week 12 there were plenty of upsets, including the Browns over the Steelers. The Houston Texans lost to the Tennessee Titans after entering the game as eight-point favorites; the Washington Commanders also lost to the Dallas Cowboys after being favored by over 10 points.
These were two inexplicable losses, but the common theme was that they were in-division matchups. No matter what the two teams' records are, divisional matchups are much more difficult than other types of games because the two sides are so familiar with one another.
There were plenty of other close calls around the league in Week 12. The Kansas City Chiefs had to kick a last-second field goal to beat the Carolina Panthers, a team that, up until a few weeks ago, was unanimously considered the worst team in the league. The Chiefs are coming off of back to back Super Bowl victories and they still struggle with teams that are near the bottom of the barrel.
Fans in Pittsburgh can be mad at Tomlin all they want, and he did make his fair share of mistakes while playing the Browns, but these types of games happen to every team. Two of the Baltimore Ravens losses came against Cleveland and the Las Vegas Raiders, so even the top teams in Pittsburgh's own division struggle in certain situations.
Steelers' Mike Tomlin Still Deserves A Ton Of Blame For Embarrassing Loss
Tomlin probably had his worst coaching performance of the season against the Browns, and it is not just because Pittsburgh lost. On Pittsburgh's first possession of the game the team attempted a 58-yard field goal in harsh conditions, which was an extremely questionable decision. Tomlin also chose to go for it on fourth down on his own side of the field.
Those instances paired with questionable timeout usage and a decision to accept a penalty late in the game that ultimately hurt the Steelers put a serious blemish on Tomlin's Coach Of The Year case for the 2024 season.
