WATCH: Steelers run terrible 4th-and-1 toss sweep Jaguars (and everyone) saw coming
Todd Haley loves a good toss sweep in the playoffs
The Jacksonville Jaguars walked into Pittsburgh and came off the top rope on the Steelers, leaping out to a 21-0 lead over the heavily favored (-7) home team early (follow along with our live blog here, stream the game with CBS All Access here). They didn't do it without the Steelers' help though. Ben Roethlisberger contributed with an interception under the shadow of his own goal line. And Todd Haley contributed with a miserable call on fourth down.
While trailing 14-0, the Steelers marched down the field, mainly on the strength of Le'Veon Bell's rushing attack. Bell came up short on a third down and the Steelers faced a choice. They decided to go -- and would have run a play against 10 defenders, but Doug Marrone called timeout -- and called a very silly play, a toss sweep.
JALEN RAMSEY.
— NFL (@NFL) January 14, 2018
Stuffed. 🚫 #JAXvsPIT #NFLPlayoffs
📺: @NFLonCBS pic.twitter.com/cPWSpY63Nd
Look, hindsight is easy when you're sitting here with slippers and no pants on yelling at the television, but there is no chance that a toss sweep on a 4th-and-short should be in Haley's playbook against the fastest and most athletic defense in the NFL.
Fun fact: this is not the first time in a critical playoff situation that Haley's gone for the 4th-and-short toss. He did it back in the 2011 NFL playoffs when he was head coach of the Chiefs.
Todd Haley: calling toss sweeps on fourth and short in the playoffs for nearly a decade now. pic.twitter.com/d8OTFHF0Cd
— Will Brinson (@WillBrinson) January 14, 2018
People were not impressed then and they were not impressed on Sunday either.
Todd Haley strikes again.
— Rob Pizzola (@robpizzola) January 14, 2018
Fire Todd Haley
— Adam Gretz (@AGretz) January 14, 2018
These deep pitches in short yardage situations are about as bad as it gets. Todd Haley cannot be serious.
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) January 14, 2018
Todd Haley entered the playoffs as a sneaky head coaching candidate. Since then, he’s shattered his hip in a bar fight and then called a sweep on fourth-and-1. That’ll do it.
— Sean Wagner-McGough (@seanjwagner) January 14, 2018
Three worst plays of the playoffs so far...
— Bill Simmons (@BillSimmons) January 14, 2018
3. That 4th and 1 play by Pitt just now
2. Alex Smith run option sweep that got stuffed
1. Atlanta’s 4th and 2 for season rollout that Eagles D was calling out beforehand
lmao a toss sweep on 4th and inches w/ a 6'5 qb
— Robby Kalland (@RKalland) January 14, 2018
Who calls for a toss sweep to gain 6 inches? Todd Haley.
— Michael DeCourcy (@tsnmike) January 14, 2018
There are plenty of other reasons why the Steelers are getting hammered by the Jaguars, including a strip-sack of Ben Roethlisberger that led to a Jaguars touchdown, Leonard Fournette pounding the rock down the Steelers throat and Blake Bortles playing well.
But getting points and cutting the lead from 14-0 to 14-3 or 14-7 was critical at that juncture and the offense came up woefully short on a terrible playcall.
















