Steelers coach Mike Tomlin says he ‘dozed off’ at the end of dramatic Chargers-Raiders game.
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It turns out Mike Tomlin was asleep when the whole of America was awake. Sunday night was an amazing day for NFL fans. While the Chargers and Raiders fought on the field, Steelers fans found themselves glued to their television screens. Anything but a tie between the Chargers and Raiders would’ve sent them to the playoffs, and it did. The game came down to the final seconds of the final drive in overtime. It was one of the best games, if not the best game of this NFL season.
Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin, however, was calmly unaware of the drama that was unfolding. It turns out Mike Tomlin was asleep. He said :
Mike Tomlin dozed off and missed the ending of Raiders-Chargers. 😂
(🎥: @uSTADIUM) pic.twitter.com/GyXhYNy3Ip
— theScore (@theScore) January 11, 2022
It was an important result for the Steelers because if the Raiders-Chargers game had ended in a tie, the Steelers would have been eliminated from playoff contention. But thanks to Raiders kicker Daniel Carlson’s 47-yard field goal, the Steelers clinched a postseason berth for a second-straight year. In what’s going to be Ben Roethlisberger’s last season for the franchise.
What’s waiting for Mike Tomlin and the Pittsburgh Steelers in the playoffs?
The Steelers had just a 9% chance to make the playoffs entering the last day of week 18 of the regular season. Though they’re in the postseason, the challenge ahead is a tough one. They’ll face the Kansas City Chiefs (12-5) in the AFC wild-card round at Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday.
Just three weeks ago, the visiting Chiefs shellacked (36-10) the Steelers in their Week 16 matchup. Mahomes, in typical Mahomesian fashion, engineered the offense with three passing touchdowns. Mike Tomlin recognized the gravity of his opponent and was not ready to back down. He said :
They handled us and handled us definitively. We understand that. At the same time, we’re not paralyzed by that. We accept that we didn’t play well enough, we accept that we didn’t plan well enough.
It’s the NFL and wilder things have happened in the NFL playoffs. We’ll see what comes of this lopsided early playoff matchup.