Steelers Coach Prevents A Touchdown By Standing In The Way On A Kickoff, Accused Of Cheating
NBC
Baltimore Ravens players and coaches accused Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin of cheating after he stepped onto the field and seemingly prevented a touchdown on a kickoff return during Thursday night's game.
The Ravens won 22-20.
Up 13-7 in the third quarter, Ravens returner Jacoby Jones was streaking down the sideline when he passed Tomlin — who was standing with one foot on the field while watching the jumbotron.
Jones cut inside to avoid Tomlin, who jumped out of the way at the last second, and got tackled.
The play:
NBC
You can see Jones juke back inside, but he might have gotten tackled anyway (via @cjzero):
Ravens coach John Harbaugh said after the game, "I was wondering, did they credit him with the tackle on that? I really don't know what to say about it other than stuff like that happens."
Joe Flacco — who famously went around and told his teammates to run off the sideline and tackle a kick returner if he was going to score in the Super Bowl — said Tomlin did it intentionally and should have been flagged.
Flacco told CSN Baltimore:
“I took some flack for joking around in the Super Bowl and saying that maybe you should just run onto the field and tackle somebody if this guys breaks it. That’s exactly what he just did.
“He was looking at the big screen the whole entire time. He knew where he was, and he knew where Jacoby was. He pulled my move.”
Tomlin told ESPN, "I always watch the returns on the JumboTron. It provides better perspective for me. I lost my placement as he broke free and saw at the last second how close I was to the field of play."
Tomlin may have gotten away with one, but Jones got the last laugh (and a turkey leg) with the win — which moved Baltimore into the sixth and final playoff spot (via @cjzero):
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