In the second quarter of the Steelers’ eventual victory over the Jets on Sunday, safety Minkah Fitzpatrick was flagged for leverage when he leaped over the line to block Greg Zuerlein’s extra point.
Pittsburgh special teams coordinator Danny Smith was clearly heated about the penalty, as shown on the NBC broadcast, with head coach Mike Tomlin also expressing his frustration to the officials.
As it turns out, they were right to be upset about the flag.
“I did talk to New York and they did tell me Minkah’s block was legal — which I knew in-stadium,” Tomlin said in his Tuesday press conference. “But that’s life. None of us are perfect, man. There’s going to be mistakes made in-game. There are strategic mistakes made by guys like me. There’s playing mistakes made by players. And there’s officiating mistakes.
“The bottom line is, if you’re capable and you’re on your job for 60 minutes, mistakes by others often doesn’t define the outcome of games.”
That missed call did effectively give the Jets two more points. New York used the penalty to move a two-point try up to the 1-yard line and converted it with a pass from Aaron Rodgers to Garrett Wilson.
But those were the last points New York scored all night.
“[I]t is a shame, because that was a significant play by ‘Mink’ and it did create a two-point scenario for them that kind of could’ve changed the texture of how that game was unfolding,” Tomlin said. “But that’s life, man. You’ve got to smile in the face of it and I expect our group to do so.”
The Steelers did just that, blocking a Zuerlein 35-yard field goal late in the third quarter en route to a 37-15 final score.
