Mike Tomlin defends NFL's taunting rule after controversial call

Monday Night Football’s game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Chicago Bears wasn’t without controversy. After Bears linebacker Cassius Marsh sacked Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger on third down, the Steelers were seemingly ready to punt. Marsh was flagged for taunting on the play, but it was unclear exactly why. As many bashed the NFL for the call, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin defended the league’s taunting rule after the game.

Marsh was apparently flagged for running towards the Steelers sideline.

“We’re just trying to clean our game up,” Tomlin, a member of the NFL’s competition committee, said via NFL Network’s Aditi Kinkhabwala. “We understand that people playing it at a lower level watch us and often mimic us and how we conduct ourselves.”

TAUNTING????
pic.twitter.com/xW2CPaLoGZ

— PFF (@PFF) November 9, 2021

Tomlin isn’t the only one to defend the taunting call

The ESPN broadcast crew had differing opinions on the controversial call on the Bears. Brian Griese, who was on the broadcast, vehemently disagrees with a flag being thrown on Marsh for the play.

“Think about Cassius Marsh who was just elevated from the practice squad,” stated ESPN’s Brian Griese. “He gets the biggest sack of the game and then, okay I get it, you don’t want to give any room [for them] to throw the flag on you. But to me he’s looking at the sideline from the hash [markers]. Why are we throwing a penalty there?

“All I can say is — in these most crucial of moments you have to play it by the book. [But] that’s a tough one to swallow. That’s tough to swallow.”

While Griese disagrees with Tomlin and the officials for that call, former NFL official John Parry understands why taunting was called. The ESPN broadcast brought Parry on to give his take after the call.

“A lot of people don’t like it, but let me tell you this. Throughout the entire season, the league, they have been consistent with this call,” explained Parry. “And I’m sure what [the official] felt is that he directed that towards the Pittsburgh bench. Look, they’re going off the training tapes. What do they want, what don’t they want? He’s taken six, seven, eight steps towards the bench area.”

Instead of the Steelers punting the ball away, they instead got a fresh set of downs and 15 yards on the play. Pittsburgh eventually kicked a go ahead 52-yard field goal at the end of the drive, taking a six point lead. The Bears answered with a touchdown, but the Steelers again drove down the field. Pittsburgh won on a late field goal to win 29-27.