As bleak as things looked in the second half of the Pittsburgh Steelers' loss to the Philadelphia Eagles Sunday, Mike Tomlin never considered waving the white flag. Speaking to reporters Monday, Tomlin said he had no appetite for resting any starters despite a short week and crucial AFC North game against the Baltimore Ravens on tap.
"No," Tomlin said via the team's YouTube channel when asked if the thought crossed his mind.
Pittsburgh trailed for the entire second half and got rolled late in the game. Philadelphia held the final for the final 10:29, putting on a clinic of a 21-play drive that never saw the Steelers got the football back.
Given the fact the game was salted away on one continuous drive, there wasn't an opportunity to rest players even had Tomlin wanted to. Pittsburgh had to rotate and sub players during that Eagles march, not allowing them to rest anyone anyway. T.J. Watt was already injured and had exited the game and safety depth was thin with SS DeShon Elliott sitting out with a hamstring injury.
"We play and play to win," Tomlin said when asked why he didn't think about pulling any starters.
Frankly, the question was pretty irrelevant for a game like this, and Tomlin's answer was unsurprising. Lopsided as the game felt on the field, it wasn't a 40-0 blowout. And Tomlin isn't one to replace starters even in those situations. QB Ben Roethlisberger was famous for rarely being replaced in ugly defeats, finishing a 33-3 defeat to the New England Patriots in the 2019 season opener. Last year, QB Kenny Pickett didn't leave in a 30-7 season-opening loss to the San Francisco 49ers.
Still, the fact that Pittsburgh is coming off a taxing game in which its defense logged 77 snaps and is going on the road on a short week for what will be an emotionally charged game against the Baltimore Ravens is impactful. It puts the Steelers at a disadvantage in a game that means more to them than any other they've played thus far. Beat Baltimore and the AFC North is Pittsburgh's for the first time since 2020. Lose and its grip on the division lead will have disappeared.
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