Ben Roethlisberger Questions Mike Tomlin’s Decision to Punt in Critical Moment Against Bears
The Pittsburgh Steelers have been catching a lot of heat after their Week 12 loss to the Chicago Bears. Most of that has been directed at Head Coach Mike Tomlin for many baffling decisions he made during the week and in the contest. Fans, media, and even a couple of his own players have publicly called him out for one of the most poorly coached games of the 2025 season.
Former quarterback Ben Roethlisberger also had some issues with Tomlin in that game. On his podcast, Footbahlin with Ben Roethlisberger, he made sure to talk about the head coach's decision to punt instead of going for a fourth and nine as the two-minute warning was approaching.
"In Coach [Mike Tomlin]'s postgame press conference, he said something along the lines of, 'We have three timeouts and we're looking for a stop, and we get the ball back.' My thought is: if that's the case... why not take a chance on fourth down?" Roethlisberger asked. "You keep your timeouts, and you keep going. If you don't get it, you still have your timeouts and you're trying to stop them anyway... If you're counting on a three and out, does it matter where on the field you're counting on a three and out?"
Roethlisberger definitely has a point there. The situation was not ideal, as the Steelers had a fourth and nine at their own 23-yard line with 2:01 left in the game. However, the offense would have to find a way to drive down the field either way. It's argued that it would be easier to get the fourth down conversion and drive down the field than punt it, get the punt back, and have a drive with less time and no timeouts.
The only reason to punt it there is because the Bears would have been in field goal position had the Steelers not gotten the fourth down conversion. If that happened, Pittsburgh would have needed a touchdown drive with no timeouts. Either way, a first down would mean the Bears win, so why not try to get nine yards and keep all of your timeouts to have the best chance of winning? On the flip side, the Steelers did in fact get the ball back, so the gamble worked out. Unfortunately for the Steelers, they weren't able to score on their last drive of the game or even get into field goal range to tie.
Many people accuse Tomlin of living in his fears, and this is a prime example. He clearly has more faith in his defense to stop the Bears' electric offense on three plays than he does his offense of getting nine yards in a single play. All that punt really did was make life harder on the offense, as they had to drive downfield with no timeouts, and they clearly could not do that.
Steelers Might've Lived In Their Fears On Final Drive
The play calls after the Steelers got the ball back were even more of a problem. Pittsburgh had the ball on its own 49-yard line with a first and 10. Every single play called was arguably a short-yard quick-hitter, including the one on fourth and six. Predictably, it did not work, and the Bears won anyway.
Kicker Chris Boswell is statistically one of the most reliable kickers in NFL history. He made a 60-yard field goal earlier in the season, and the Steelers were very close to his range. In fact, they could have tried a field goal from 65 yards on that fourth and six. They theoretically could have also ran a play over the middle on an earlier down to gain a lot of yards, spike it to stop the clock, and give Boswell an easier attempt.
Jets Host Former First-Round CB Just Days After Cowboys Cut
The New York Jets have a clear need at cornerback right now and they were at least looking around at what's out there on Tuesday.
ESPN's Rich Cimini reported that the Jets hosted veteran cornerback Kaiir Elam for a visit on Tuesday after being released by the Dallas Cowboys this past weekend.
"Former first-round DB Kaiir Elam visited the Jets today. He was cut by the Cowboys on Saturday. He was the Bills' first-round pick in 2022," Cimini wrote.
The Jets should make a move
Elam is someone Jets fans should be familiar with. He played the first three seasons of his National Football League career with the Buffalo Bills after being selected with the No. 23 overall pick in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft.
He's just 24 years old and played 10 games with the Cowboys this season, including seven starts. Over that stretch, he held opposing quarterbacks to a 55.6 percent completion rate on 45 targets against him. Overall, opposing quarterbacks have gone 25-of-45 when throwing Elam's way this season for 372 yards and three touchdowns in 10 games.
The Jets are a bit thin at corner right now after trading both Sauce Gardner and Michael Carter II away. Brandon Stephens is the No. 1 with Azareye'h Thomas seemingly the No. 2, although he had to miss a game with a concussion. He was able to return against the Baltimore Ravens this past weekend.
There aren't many options out there who could help, but Elam does sound like someone who could help. He's just 24 years old and has the pedigree of being a former first-rounder. At this point in the season, there may be a better lottery ticket out there. It's somewhat surprising that the Cowboys let him go, but maybe that could help the Jets.
As of writing no deal has been signed, but Elam is the exact type of player the team should be looking to bring to town right now.
