The Pittsburgh Steelers had watched the LA Chargers-Las Vegas Raiders game with great interest. It wasn’t that they were rooting for either team to win, they just wanted a winner and make the playoffs. As the clock ticked down in overtime, it was still tied and it very much looked like it would end even. Thanks to a late timeout by the Chargers, the Raiders kicked a last second field goal to send them and the Steelers into the playoffs.
You’d think everyone on the Steelers was glued to the TV, especially given that it was still tied in the late stages of overtime but not everyone was watching.
In his weekly press conference, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin revealed that he “dozed off” and missed the end of the game. Tomlin added that given the circumstances, he joked, “I’m probably better off not having watched it.”
Mike Tomlin admits that he "dozed off" at the end of the #Chargers–#Raiders game. Knowing now how close it got, and that a tie would've kept his #Steelers home and out of the playoffs, he jokes, "I'm probably better off not having watched it."
— Aditi Kinkhabwala (@AKinkhabwala) January 11, 2022
It sounds strange but it’s honestly not a bad move. It wasn’t like Tomlin could control what happened in Las Vegas so instead of having needless stress watching your postseason hopes go up in smoke in a comical way that’s out of your control, just go ahead and fall asleep and hope for the best when you wake up. It’s certainly less stressful that way.
Now that they can control the rest of their destiny, Tomlin and the Steelers will be awake for their game against the Kansas City Chiefs. That might be for naught as the Steelers are double digit underdogs but at least they’re in the fight.
[NFL]
