The Steelers eliminated: the end for Mike Tomlin?

The Ravens manhandled the Steelers 28-14 to continue their road to the playoffs and one wonders if the time has come in Pittsburgh to end the 18-year reign of head coach Mike Tomlin.

• Also read: The Texans win and the Chargers make fools of themselves

• Also read: When the Rams get help from their enemies…

Let’s get one thing straight right away: Tomlin is a great coach. Sometimes, however, being a great coach is no longer enough.

We repeat over and over again that he has never had a losing season at the helm of the Steelers. It’s true that this is a notorious feat, but it’s also true that too often, his team fades away once the playoffs arrive. And often, in a very bad way.

The Steelers’ DNA has always been to be the most physical team on the field. Against the Ravens, however, they had their apple tree shaken unceremoniously.

They looked like helpless children, intimidated in the schoolyard by the bums of the neighborhood.

The Steelers are used to responding blow for blow against their sworn enemies. Saturday evening, they kindly turned the other cheek after each slap, one more violent than the other. As if they were smugly conceding that they were not in the same league as their torturers.

The Ravens ran 50 times for 299 yards and two rushing touchdowns in this slaughter. We’re talking about an average of 6.1 yards per running play. We’ll return to the exploits of King Derrick Henry, but first let’s settle Tomlin’s case.

Recurring situation

If this was a bad game in the Steelers system, there would be no need to panic. However, it was a sixth defeat in a row for the team in the playoffs. In these six defeats, the team which has forged a rich history with its “iron curtain” in defense, conceded at least 28 points each time.

The first half is particularly problematic. Facing the Ravens, the Steelers retreated to the locker room at halftime trailing 21-0.

The scenario was identical last year against the Bills. In 2021, against the Chiefs, they also trailed 21-7 at the half. A year earlier, the Browns built a 28-0 cushion against them in the first 30 minutes.

This time, after the first half, the Ravens outrageously dominated the Steelers at every level imaginable (19 first plays to 2 and 308 yards to 59).

Why do the Steelers constantly jump on the field with such a deficient energy level year after year in the playoffs? Their last playoff victory was in the 2016 season.

Tomlin, let’s repeat, is clearly not a bad coach. However, it is entirely legitimate to question whether he has done more than his time in Pittsburgh.

At a time not so long ago, Andy Reid was getting nowhere with the Eagles in Philadelphia. He was having good seasons, but couldn’t push his team to take the next step. The Eagles eventually let him go and he reached the pinnacle of his career with the Chiefs afterward. Reid clearly wasn’t a bad coach, but in Philadelphia he was stuck in neutral with a message that clearly wasn’t getting across.

For all the respect Tomlin commands, the Steelers die down on him when the stakes get high. We come to believe that if he stays in place, the Steelers will still be competitive. They will always be a good team, well managed. But can they really go further under his command? The question arises.

Long live the king!

We told you before this duel that the Ravens had never been so well equipped to forget Lamar Jackson’s failures in the playoffs, he whose record was 2-4, with nine turnovers on his record, before this match.

Against the Steelers, Jackson didn’t even need to be miraculous, he completed 16 of his 21 passes for 175 yards and two touchdowns, in addition to rushing for 81 yards.

The real engine of the offense, however, was running back Derrick Henry, with 26 carries for 186 yards and two touchdowns. It is he who has murdered every form of will in the enemy.

This is exactly the season the Ravens went for him in the off-season. Not only because he has a knack for finishing off rivals, but because the pressure on Jackson’s shoulders becomes infinitely less when the king reigns.

It was Henry’s fourth 150-plus yard game in the playoffs, matching Terrell Davis’ mark with the Broncos in the late 1990s.

The Ravens’ ground dominance allowed them to hold the ball for 39:33, an eternity. If they manage to repeat this formula, they will be frankly difficult to curb.

THE 3 STARS OF THE MATCH

Derrick Henry

He was the undisputed star of this meeting by offering two runs of 30 yards or more. With this game, he became the first carrier in history to sign four games of more than 130 yards on the ground and two touchdowns at age 30 or older. It was also his third career playoff game over 180 yards.

Lamar Jackson

The Ravens quarterback was without his receiver Zay Flowers, the team’s best wide receiver. He managed the situation well by distributing the ball to seven receivers and not being the victim of the slightest turnover.

Nnamdi Madubuike

Without saying that the Ravens tackle had been discreet this season, his game was however not up to the standard of his phenomenal 2023 season. In this match without tomorrow, he shone with four tackles, including one for a loss , with two sacks and a folded pass.