Head coach Mike Tomlin and quarterback Russell Wilson of the Pittsburgh Steelers were coy with the media after beating the Washington Commanders. They might have to teach that skill to rookie center Zach Frazier.
The Steelers sealed their 28-27 victory by getting Commanders rookie defensive lineman Jer’Zhan Newton to jump offsides. The penalty gave the Steelers a first down on fourth-and-1 with 1:02 remaining in the fourth quarter.
With no Washington timeouts remaining, the Steelers took two kneel downs after the penalty to end the game.
Tomlin and Wilson both declined to tell the media whether or not the offense planned to run a play before Newton gave the Steelers a free first down. But Frazier spilled the beans, telling reporters the offense didn’t intend to go for the fourth-down try.
“All we were doing was breaking the huddle and then trying to sell, like we were going to sneak it. So broke the huddle,” Frazier told the media, via ESPN’s Brooke Pryor. “Everyone just sprinted to the ball, kind of acted like we were going to sneak it. And [Wilson] got him with the hard count.”
Rookie Zach Frazier Spoils Mike Tomlin’s Fun
Just as Frazier did, Tomlin received a question about the potential fourth-down try just before Newton’s penalty. But Tomlin declined to answer it.
Instead, he gave the media a wry smile.
“We’ll never know, will we?” Tomlin said as the coach and reporters shared a laugh. “You know I’m a degenerate.”
Tomlin was aggressive throughout the matchup with the Commanders, especially in the first quarter. The Steelers won the toss and elected to receive the opening kickoff. They also called a fake punt on fourth-and-15 at their own 16-yard line in the opening quarter.
The Steelers head coach admitted that those aggressive calls didn’t work out for his team. Pittsburgh went three-and-out on its opening drive and threw an incomplete pass on the fake punt, resulting in a turnover on downs.
But it’s possible Newton believed the Steelers were actually going to run a play on fourth-and-1 late in the fourth quarter because of their early aggressiveness.
Russell Wilson Doesn’t Answer Whether Steelers Offense Was Going to Go on Late Fourth Down
Wilson didn’t even have to receive a question about the potential fourth-down attempt. Before a reporter had an opportunity to ask him, the quarterback declined the question.
“We were trying to get another first down. [Cordarelle Patterson] almost got it [on third down]. That was close,” Wilson told reporters. “Then it’s just trust. It’s trust in coach Tomlin in what decision he wants to make and how we want to go about it.
“We had the mentality of making a play depending on what we were going to do. I’m not going to tell you guys what we were going to do. But what we were able to accomplish there was huge.”
It could have benefitted the Steelers down the road if future opponents believe Tomlin was going to go for the fourth-down try. Should the Steelers be in a similar situation later this season, then their opponent would have to honor the possibility of the Pittsburgh offense running a play.
In turn, that could lead to another offsides penalty as the Steelers earned in Week 10.
But Frazier spoiled all of that, revealing Tomlin’s true intention. With no play called, the Steelers likely would have called a timeout and then punted had Newton not jumped offsides.
It’s not a big deal, but the Steelers do not benefit at all by publicly saying their plan on the fourth-down call.
