Aaron Rodgers is a savvy football player who knows how to take advantage of the rules. But Mike Tomlin is all too familiar with Rodgers’ tricks and didn’t let the quarterback get the best of him on Sunday night.
Tomlin’s Pittsburgh Steelers beat Rodgers’ New York Jets 37-15 on Sunday night to improve to 5-2 while dropping the Jets to 2-5.
With 7:56 left in the game, the Jets had the ball at the Steelers’ 25-yard line down 30-15. New York had a 4th-and-5 situation, meaning the game was on the line. Pittsburgh had 12 men on the field for the play. Rodgers is known for trying to take advantage of “free play” opportunities. For instance, if a defense has committed an infraction, Rodgers will have his offense run a play anyway and take a deep shot, with the intent of declining the penalty if they connect on a big play.
Tomlin was well aware of Rodgers’ tendency to do that, so rather than allow Rodgers to snap the ball and give the Jets a free play, the Steelers head coach called a timeout.
Tomlin even gave Rodgers a smile and nod, as if to say, “I know your tricks.”
MIKE TOMLIN OWNED AARON RODGERS. #Steelers had 12 men on field.
Aaron try to do his special by hurrying the snap, to get a free play.
Ref blows the whistle and announce a Pittsburgh timeout.
Rodgers looks over at the sideline and TOMLIN DID THIS 💀
pic.twitter.com/0HjCDntGOp— MLFootball (@_MLFootball) October 21, 2024
The timeout allowed Pittsburgh to reset its defense and avoid a penalty. It also prevented Rodgers from getting a free play opportunity.
The Jets ended up throwing an incompletion on the fourth-down play to turn the ball over on downs. Pittsburgh drove the other way for a touchdown to make the final score seem like a big blowout.
Credit to Tomlin for having his head in the game and knowing his opponent extremely well.
