The Steelers have confirmed that which was obvious in the aftermath of Sunday’s loss to the Patriots: They didn’t take full advantage of the three minutes and 20 seconds needed for review (and reversal) of Jesse James’ go-ahead non-touchdown to plan out second and goal and, if necessary, third and goal and fourth and goal.
Via Aditi Kinkhabwala of NFL Media, Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said Tuesday that the offense had only one play ready to go.
“I wish we would’ve called two plays,” Roethlisberger said, with another not-so-subtle shove of offensive coordinator Todd Haley under that thing with the wheels that go ‘round and ‘round. “I wish we had two plays ready to go.”
Roethlisberger has some responsibility for that failure, as well. Nothing stopped him from choosing not to take a knee and say a prayer and wait for a ruling but to gather up his teammates and use every second to plan for what would come next.
As coach Mike Tomlin tells it, via Kinkhabwala, the team spent most of the 200 seconds deciding what to do if the ball was spotted at the one, because the officials indicated that the likely ruling if the touchdown was reversed would have been that James was short of the goal line.
Regardless of what the officials said, any member of the coaching staff could have seen that James broke the plane -- and any member of the coaching staff should have known that there was a chance the catch would have been ruled not a catch. So they should have planned for that outcome, too.
And even if the ball would have been at the one or farther back, Roethlisberger admits that only one play had been called. Which confirms the broader point that situations like this show the difference between teams like the Patriots and teams like the Steelers.
Even if the Steelers currently have the better team, the Patriots have the better operation. Because the Patriots never would have had only one play called, and they never would have not been ready for anything that could have happened as as result of that replay review.
Moreover, and as Haley would probably like to say but never would publicly, Patriots quarterback Tom Brady would never throw the ball into triple coverage with the No. 1 seed on the line.
