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Mike Tomlin Stands By Play-Calling in Steelers Loss

Mike Tomlin supported the offensive play-calling from the Pittsburgh Steelers' loss to the Browns.

Stephen Thompson

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PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Steelers gained just 259 yards hit the endzone just one time in their Week 11 loss to the Cleveland Browns on the road. 

The defense played well, holding Browns rookie quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson and company to just 13 points, but the offense was strangled by the elite Cleveland defense. Despite that, head coach Mike Tomlin stood by the play selection on offense when asked if he felt they could have gotten Jaylen Warren, who ran for 129 yards and a touchdown on just nine carries.  

“I don’t," Tomlin said when asked if he thought they should have gotten Warren the ball more. "When you’re unsuccessful, you can look back and make a lot of those types of judgments. We just don’t live like that. We don’t live in our fears, we don’t second guess, man. We live and so I stand by whatever decisions or play selections or ball distributions we had today.”

Warren touched the ball 12 times in all and gained an average of 12.1 yards on those dozen touches, none of which came in the two-minute drill the Steelers could have used to cut into the deficit before halftime. 

Tomlin said he didn't take issue with how the Steelers utilized their explosive tailback, particularly late in the first half. Pittsburgh held the ball and one last timeout with 1:42 left on the clock and opted to pass on three straight plays instead of giving Warren the chance to break something loose. 

"When you’re unsuccessful there’s a lot of latitude in terms of judgement, play selection, etc," Tomlin said. "We stand by what we did.”

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Stephen Thompson
STEPHEN THOMPSON

Stephen Thompson graduated with a bachelor's degree in communications and political science from Pitt in April 2022 after spending four years as a sports writer and editor at The Pitt News, the University of Pittsburgh's independent, student-run newspaper. He primarily worked the Pitt men's basketball beat, and filled in on coverage of football, volleyball, softball, gymnastics and lacrosse, in addition to other sports as needed. His work at The Pitt News has won awards from the Pennsylvania News Media Association and Associated College Press. During the spring and summer of 2021, Stephen interned for Pittsburgh Sports Now, covering baseball in western Pennsylvania. Hailing from Washington D.C., family ties have cultivated a love of Boston's professional teams and Pitt athletics, and a fascination with sports in general. 

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