Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin came under fire on Thursday for seemingly trying to interfere with Baltimore Ravens receiver Jacoby Jones' kickoff return in the third quarter. Tomlin may have cost the Ravens a touchdown by teetering on the sideline and breaking Jones' concentration.
Tomlin watched the JumboTron with his back to the play as Jones sprinted up the sideline. Tomlin's foot touched the field of play at one point, but the coach never came into contact with Jones. Still, it was enough to break the stride of Jones, who was eventually tackled.
Baltimore went on to win the game, 22-20.
(Kickoff begins at 0:36 mark.)
After the game, Jones admitted Tomlin's closeness to the field of play affected his return.
"It broke my stride but I still shouldn't have got caught," Jones said, via ESPN. "If I was him, I'd do the same thing knowing I was back there."
Tomlin, though, denied intentionally trying to interfere with Jones.
"I always watch the returns on the JumboTron. It provides better perspective for me," Tomlin told reporters. "I lost my placement as he broke free and saw at the last second how close I was to the field of play. ...
"I was wrong, I accept responsibility for it."
At least one Raven believed Tomlin should have been penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct.
"He was looking at the big screen the whole entire time, he knew where he was, he knew where Jacoby was," said Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco.
Ravens coach John Harbaugh shrugged it off.
"I was wondering, did they credit him with the tackle on that?" Harbaugh said. "I really don't know what to say about it other than stuff like that happens."
Pittsburgh fell to 5-7 and now sit third in the AFC North, one game behind Baltimore.
