Mike Tomlin ‘didn’t believe it’ when he said Steelers offense lost its mojo

2023-09-27 08:24

Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin walked back comments made a week ago that the offense needed to get its "mojo" back.

The Pittsburgh Steelers are on a two-game winning streak after getting outmatched by the San Francisco 49ers in the season opener. The Steelers did pick up the win over the Cleveland Browns in Week 2, but their offense wasn't exactly productive.

But this past Sunday, the Steelers beat the Las Vegas Raiders 23-18 thanks in part to their offense. For the first time since their 2022 season finale against the Cleveland Browns, the Steelers put up over 300 yards of total offense.

After their Week 2 win, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin saidthe offense needs to get "their mojo back." On Tuesday, following their win over the Raiders, Tomlin walked back his comments, saying he "didn't mean it."

"I'll be really transparent with you. I didn't mean it last week when I said it," said Tomlin, h/t ESPN's Brooke Pryor. "You guys asked me the question repeatedly in a bunch of different ways and I've given you the same answer and so sometimes I just give you a colorful answer with a word like mojo just so you guys can run with it and we all can move on with our day."

Additionally, Tomlin said, "I don't subscribe to mojo or intangible like things and all of that BS."

Mike Tomlin downplays 'mojo' comments about Steelers offense

The "mojo" comment from Tomlin got to the locker room as well. Running back Najee Harris was asked about his head coach's comment, and said, "Mike T just be talking s***."

Regardless, the way the offense performed this past week is what Steelers fans have been hoping for. After all, they did show how explosive they could be throughout the preseason, but it never translated into the regular season.

On 60 plays, Pittsburgh put up 333 yards of total offense (5.6 yards per play). Quarterback Kenny Pickett threw for 235 yards and two touchdowns while completing 16-of-28 pass attempts. This was the first time Pickett threw two touchdown passes in a game in his career. One of those touchdown passes was a 72-yarder to Calvin Austin III.

This upcoming weekend, the Steelers take on the Houston Texans, who picked up their first win of the season last week against the Jacksonville Jaguars by the score of 37-17. Pittsburgh's offense will face off against a Houston defense that allowed an average of 340.7 yards of total offense per game (17th-highest in NFL) and 24.3 points per game (11th-most).