Frustrated Mike Tomlin calls Pittsburgh Steelers' effort in matinee win 'really junior varsity'

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Mike Tomlin's assessment of the Pittsburgh Steelers' performance in the Wednesday matinee win against the Baltimore Ravens was blunt.

"It was really junior varsity, to be quite honest with you," Tomlin said after the Steelers' 19-14 victory. "It was in all three phases. We couldn't run the ball effectively when we needed to. We dropped too many significant passes, very catchable, makeable passes. We didn't make significant plays in the special-teams game. Our kickoff coverage unit wasn't good enough. We turned the ball over. We gave up big plays in critical moments on defense. Can't have it."

Tomlin continued, excoriating his undefeated team.

"[The Ravens] converted a long run on a possession down before the half," he said. "Unacceptable. They had a 70-yard touchdown late in the game. Unacceptable. We're fortunate tonight. It's good to proceed with the victory. I acknowledge that. But not a lot happened tonight to be proud of or to be excited about other than that."

The Steelers (11-0) put together a sloppy and error-riddled effort in the close win against their short-handed AFC North rival. The offense had five dropped passes, matching the most in the past 15 seasons -- in 2019 against the Los Angeles Rams and 2007 versus the Cleveland Browns.

The Steelers also were ineffective in the red zone, especially in the first half. Three of their drops came in the red zone in the first half -- the most of any team in an NFL game over the past three seasons. They also failed to score a touchdown on their first three trips to the red zone, matching their most in a game this season. On the season, the Steelers entered the game scoring a touchdown on 69% of red zone drives, good for seventh in the NFL.

To explain his team's failures in the red zone and the receiver drops, Tomlin offered a clipped explanation: "Us sucking."

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/30439948/frustrated-mike-tomlin-calls-pittsburgh-steelers-effort-matinee-win-really-junior-varsity