Mike Tomlin's Bold Statement After Steelers' Loss: 'We Don’t Deserve To Win'
The Pittsburgh Steelers lost to the Chicago Bears on Sunday by a score of 31-28. The loss put Pittsburgh at 6-5 through 11 games and knocks the franchise out of first place in the AFC North. The Baltimore Ravens won their game against the New York Jets and have moved into first place in the division, and as things currently stand, the Steelers are out of the playoffs if the regular season were to end today. Pittsburgh made mistakes in all three phases of the game in Chicago, and ultimately the team could not pull off a comeback in the fourth quarter.
There were multiple instances in the game against Chicago where Pittsburgh made some sort of mistake. The offense turned the ball over twice, special teams struggled, and the defense could not get the Bears offense off of the field. There was not one phase of the game that the Steelers won over Chicago.
The Bears did great when it came to converting first downs, while the Steelers turned the ball over on downs twice. The first instance came in the first half, where Pittsburgh failed to convert a fourth and one rather than kicking a field goal to take a 10 point lead. Head Coach Mike Tomlin was asked about this decision during his post game press conference, and why he chose not to take the three points.
"Because if you can't make it on fourth down and one man; often times you don't deserve to win." Tomlin said.
The instance being referred to was in the second quarterback of the game as the Steelers had a seven point lead. Pittsburgh had the ball at Chicago's 30-yard line, and it was fourth and one. The Steelers lined up with Connor Heyward under center as the offense was doing its version of the "tush push".
The play did not work as Heyward was stuffed and was not granted the line to gain on his second effort. The play resulted in a turnover on downs, and Chicago went on to tie the game up with a touchdown.
The play seemed dysfunctional for the Steelers as Heyward did not seem to give much of an effort after receiving the ball from the center. Kenneth Gainwell lines up behind Heyward to his side on this play, and the two were seen on the broadcast having a heated discussion after the play as they walked off of the field. Pittsburgh ran the same play
On the fake Pittsburgh ran, Heyward turned around quickly and gave the ball to Gainwell. Their heated discussion after the failed version of the "Tush Push" along with the lack of an initial effort from Heyward suggests that the fake might have been what was supposed to happen the first time around. A miscommunication may have occurred, but Tomlin still believes his team didn't deserve to win the game if his offense couldn't gain one yard in a high pressure situation.
Steelers Did Not Deserve To Win In Chicago
Pittsburgh struggled in every facet of the game on Sunday, and the group did not deserve to win despite a near game-winning drive to end the game. Pittsburgh turned the ball over twice, and each turnover resulted in points for Chicago.
The offense put the defense in tough situations, and the defense could not get the opposing offense off of the field. Special teams was also an area that caused some trouble as Chicago was consistently able to return the ball out to around the 30-yard line, while Pittsburgh was often stuck with their drives starting around the 20.
The hidden character in nearly every Cowboys' big play that deserves much more credit for signature win over Eagles
Dallas Cowboys running back Javonte Williams needs a statue built for him after the pass protection display he put on against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday's 24-21 win. Following the comeback win, Williams told reporters postgame George Pickens' 43-yard catch was the play that made the team believe they could win it.
He added Pickens keeps surprising him with his crazy grabs, and while the Cowboys wide receiver is the motor of the offense right now, Williams deserves a large share of the spotlight for the team's comeback. He's also a player that keeps surprising us with his contributions on offense Simply put, the Cowboys don't win it if Williams isn't on the field. Period.
And while his 87 rushing yards are part of the reason why I say that, they're only a small part of it. In reality, I'm thinking about the way he kept Dak Prescott safe during the biggest plays of the game with big time blocks. Let's dive in.
Javonte Williams showed up in the biggest games of the Cowboys' win
Do you know those movies where there's a big reveal at the end about a key character always being in the background of pivotal moments and you just never noticed him? That was Williams on Sunday's win. Let's start with Pickens' monster catch that breathed life into the Cowboys.
It's a seven-man pass protection scheme off of play action—five offensive linemen plus the TE and RB staying in to block before releasing on check downs. In the play, which you can see below, Williams works across the pocket to help backup LT Nate Thomas and stone walls Eagles EDGE Jalyx Hunt. If it isn't for him, Hunt either rushes Prescott's pass or he sacks him. The result? Just enough time for Prescott and Pickens to make the biggest play of the game.
GEORGE PICKENS. WOW.
— NFL (@NFL) November 24, 2025
PHIvsDAL on FOX/FOX Onehttps://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/ZcmA7vSMIH
And what about Pickens' final catch to set up the easy field goal for Brandon Aubrey? With only 43 seconds on the clock, the Eagles send six defenders after Prescott and in the blink of an eye, LB Nakobe Dean passes through the B-gap (between the guard and tackle) unblocked. What looks like a dead play is saved by Williams stepping up to Dean. Prescott is still hit, but Williams block allows him to get the ball out to Pickens. Earlier in the game, Dean did a fantastic job bull rushing Williams. But in a game-winning play, Williams got his payback.
Pickens comes through once again ‼️
— NFL (@NFL) November 24, 2025
PHIvsDAL on FOX/FOX Onehttps://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/DVPb2j2Nyh
So that's one touchdown and the play to secure the game-winning field goal. But in an earlier score, Williams was also there. In a bootleg play action concept, Williams is tasked with blocking the end man on the line of scrimmage. He not only blocks his man, he rattles him with a big block. Prescott extends the play to find TE Brevyn Spann-Ford for the second touchdown of the day.
Pickens comes through once again ‼️
— NFL (@NFL) November 24, 2025
PHIvsDAL on FOX/FOX Onehttps://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/DVPb2j2Nyh
They like to say running backs don't matter in the NFL. But when they're getting yards
