Mike Tomlin wasn't making any excuses for his Steelers' 31-28 loss in New Orleans Sunday. But he obviously took exception to a pass interference penalty called by referee Craig Wrolstad's crew on corner Joe Haden late in the game that helped the Saints convert a first down on what would be their game-winning touchdown drive.
The play in question came on fourth-and-2 from the Steelers' 26 just after the two-minute warning.
Wide receiver Michael Thomas ran a quick slant and Haden came in and broke up the pass, which had slipped under the outstretched arm of Stephon Tuitt after leaving the hand of quarterback Drew Brees.
Haden and the Steelers, up 28-24 at the time, began celebrating the stop, but it was short-lived as a pair of flags were thrown for pass interference, the fifth such call in the game -- three on the Steelers and two on the Saints.
Because the play occurred after the two-minute warning, it was not challengeable by the Steelers. Only official reviews from the NFL office in New York can be done at that time.
"I don't," Tomlin said if, after watching the film of the play he still felt the pass was tipped. "But, I also don't think it was a DPI, either."
Tomlin could have challenged an earlier play when a pass to Thomas in the second quarter was broken up by Sean Davis and recovered by the Steelers. Two officials immediately on top of the play allowed it to continue, while an official from the center of the field came in signaling it was an incomplete pass.
"I don't know whether, legally, they would have allowed me to challenge it based on the initial reading on the field," Tomlin said. "In my bird's eye view, it was an incomplete pass. They banged it out. They were definitive about it. We moved on."
The Saints scored on an 8-yard touchdown run by Alvin Kamara four plays later.
But those plays, and another pass interference penalty called on Haden on fourth down in the first quarter that set up the Saints' first touchdown, were not the reason the Steelers lost, according to Tomlin.
"We're not making enough plays to do the job," Tomlin said, noting turnovers and not getting defensive stops late in games continue to plague this team. "We're not going to make it something mystical or pretend it's something outside of our control. It's preparation, It's attention to detail. It's play. It's schematics. It's coaching. It's all of those things. Those things are very tangible. We're falling short for a variety and a myriad of reasons. But it's all within that discussion."
Because of those issues, the Steelers (8-6-1) head into Sunday's regular-season finale against the Bengals (6-9) needing to win and also have the Browns (7-7-1) beat the Ravens (9-6) in Baltimore to reach the playoffs.
"We cannot waste one iota of time worrying about what's transpired in 2018," Tomlin said. "It's history. We're focused on the days that lie ahead and how we can affect them positively for us. We just focus on the things that are within our control. We had better handle things within our stadium."
On the injury front: Tomlin said Davis (quad) and linebacker Vince Williams (toe) both were hurt Sunday but have a good chance of playing this week. James Conner, who has missed the past three games with an ankle injury, also has a chance to return.