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Mike Tomlin Had Priceless Line on Steelers’ Game-Sealing Play vs. Commanders

NFL fans will never really know what was on Tomlin's mind during the last drive of the game.

Madison Williams

Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin stands on the sidelines.
Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin stands on the sidelines. / Amber Searls-Imagn Images
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The final play during the Pittsburgh Steelers' comeback 28–27 win over the Washington Commanders on Sunday sparked some controversy regarding what the Steelers planned to do on fourth down before Commanders rookie Jer'Zhan Newton committed a neutral zone infraction.

Newton's penalty gave the Steelers a new set of downs with 1:02 left in the game, resulting in Pittsburgh running the clock out to seal the victory.

This fourth down play was controversial because it was unclear at the time if the Steelers were actually going to attempt a play for a first down, or if they were just waiting to see if the Commanders defense would jump offside. Coach Mike Tomlin will never give an answer, and he had the perfect line to express this after the game.

"We'll never know, will we?" Tomlin said while laughing. "You know I'm a degenerate."

I guess NFL fans will never really know what was on Tomlin's mind during the last drive of the game.

The Steelers moved to 7–2 on the season with the win, while the Commanders hold a 7–3 record now.

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Madison Williams
MADISON WILLIAMS

Madison Williams is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated, where she specializes in tennis but covers a wide range of sports from a national perspective. Before joining SI in 2022, Williams worked at The Sporting News. Having graduated from Augustana College, she completed a master’s in sports media at Northwestern University. She is a dog mom and an avid reader.

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