By Eric Smithling,Yardbarker

Copyright yardbarker

Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin

Tomlin’s conservative second-half approach cost his team in a 31-17 home loss to the Seattle Seahawks. Per ESPN Analytics, the Steelers lost 1.6 percentage points in win probability by punting (53.9%) instead of going for it (56.5%) on a 4th-and-1 from their own 48-yard line with one minute and 40 seconds remaining in the third quarter.

ESPN Analytics also suggested Tomlin made the wrong call on two other fourth downs, punting on a 4th-and-2 four minutes into the third quarter and settling for a field goal down 10 on a 4th-and-3 midway through the fourth.

As bad as those decisions were, Tomlin’s defense may have been more problematic. The Seahawks gained 395 yards, and running back Kenneth Walker scored a 19-yard rushing touchdown on a third-and-goal late in the fourth to seal the game.

Steelers running back Kaleb Johnson also had the sort of boneheaded miscue that’s usually reserved for the worst-coached teams when he failed to field a kickoff that fell in the landing zone and rolled into the end zone, allowing the Seahawks to recover the ball for a touchdown.