To start the preseason, Mike Tomlin looked relaxed and content. His Steelers had just rolled over Jacksonville with ease. But one week later, the mood inside the City of Bridges flipped. A 17-14 loss to the Buccaneers didn’t sting because of the scoreline—it stung because of the way Pittsburgh handed the game away.
And it was obvious from the first few snaps this wasn’t going to mirror that opener. Mason Rudolph’s second throw of the night sailed late and landed with the wrong jersey. He owned up to it after, but the damage was already done. And as the game unfolded, every Steelers quarterback would follow with a mistake of his own. Skylar Thompson was picked off while the team sat deep in Bucs territory, leaving Tomlin pleading for a flag that never came. Then Logan Woodside’s misfire late in the fourth quarter set Tampa Bay up for the winning field goal as the clock hit zero. Three picks, three costly reminders that sloppiness adds up fast in this league.
Post-game, Tomlin pointed to the obvious culprit. “It was self-inflicted wounds for us tonight that determined the outcome of the game, I thought,” he said in his presser. He didn’t sugarcoat it. Turnovers chopped down their chances, but the flags piled on, too. The coach admitted drives were stalling before they ever got going, noting his group was “0-for-5 at the half” on key downs thanks to those penalties.
Still, the turnovers weren’t the only frustration. Penalties came at moments where discipline mattered most. “We got a penalty, roughing the kicker, where they were set and they eventually got a touchdown,” Tomlin explained. And he was right—you don’t survive those mistakes in tight games. Those are the exact breakdowns that leave fans questioning accountability. And by the time the Steelers boarded the plane home, not only was Tomlin replaying those breakdowns in his head, but a fresh “Fire Mike Tomlin” thread had already begun trending across Steelers Nation.
In fact, that very moment highlighted the thin margins. Backup corner D’Shawn Jamison barreled into the kicker, a flag that extended Tampa Bay’s drive. Two plays later, Teddy Bridgewater floated a dart to Bucky Irving for six. Credit to Jamison for clawing back with a forced fumble in the second half, but by then, the damage had already cut too deep. Losing by three while gifting away four points felt like the ultimate lesson in discipline.
Mike Tomlin said self-inflicted wounds determined the outcome of the game. Turnovers and penalties were problematic.
— Ray Fittipaldo (@rayfitt1) August 17, 2025
Finally, the defense didn’t exactly bail anyone out either. Tomlin admitted, “We lost leverage in the red zone in some passes there early on. Allowed them to score seven. And we gotta make people settle for three.” However, poor play wasn’t the only headache Tomlin had in the game.
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