Todd Kirkland/Getty Images Marcus Allen of the Pittsburgh Steelers on December 4, 2022.
The Pittsburgh Steelers (6-8) may have defeated the Carolina Panthers (5-9) in Charlotte on Sunday. But in the mind of Pittsburgh Tribune-Review columnist Mark Madden, the 24-16 win was an “illusion,” one that makes the team’s players — and its fans — think they are better than they really are.
In Madden’s opinion, the Steelers are a losing team mostly due to a lack of talent and poor coaching. But the team’s “flawed culture” is a contributing factor, he says — one that has held the organization back for many years.
A Pair of ‘Inexcusable’ Penalties
He points to a pair of 15-yard penalties committed against the Panthers as the latest examples of “inexcusable” actions that ought to be punished.
The first of the two penalties came during an exceptionally long 21-play drive, when wide receiver Diontae Johnson converted a 3rd-and-6 with an 8-yard reception that would have given the Steelers a first down at Carolina’s 8-yard-line. But Johnson was subsequently penalized 15 yards for taunting, a foul he has since tried to explain in the media.
According to The Athletic’s Steelers beat writer Mike DeFabo: He “was just there and I didn’t even see him there,” said Johnson, referring to Panthers safety Jeremy Chinn. “I didn’t even see him there. I was in the moment. It was nothing toward him or whatever.”
More egregious is Steelers safety Marcus Allen introducing himself into Carolina’s huddle, in the immediate aftermath of a Cam Heyward sack of Panthers quarterback Sam Darnold.
Rewatching the Steelers game. This has to be the dumbest penalty of the season. Steelers were coming off of a time consuming TD drive and were about to get the ball back after 2 huge sacks. Marcus Allen is so lucky that the Steelers held on to win
Carolina would have faced a 4th-and-27. Instead, the Panthers were gifted a first down and finished the drive with a field goal.
Mark Madden: ‘Nobody Cares’
Madden goes on to argue that Marcus Allen — a fifth year safety who plays almost exclusively on special teams — ought to be waived, a sentiment that has been echoed over and over on Twitter in the wake of the game.
“Allen’s a scrub. He should be cut. He won’t be. But a marginal player like Allen can’t have such profoundly negative impact,” writes Madden, who also believes that Johnson should have been benched—at least for a few plays—in the wake of his penalty.
“The actions of Johnson and especially Allen are inexcusable. But Tomlin accepts them. So do the team’s leaders. Nobody cares,” adds Madden, a shot at Steelers defensive captain Cam Heyward, among others.
But the longtime media provocateur doesn’t expect Tomlin to change his ways.
“Tomlin will spew some empty platitude to excuse what Johnson and Allen did. ‘We prefer to look through the windshield, not the rear-view mirror, blah, blah, blah,’” is what Madden expects to hear.
In fact, all that Tomlin said about Allen’s unsportsmanlike conduct penalty is that “It’s three points.”
Asked about it a second time, he indicated that he didn’t see what actions drew the flag.
Mike Tomlin on Marcus Allen’s unsportsmanlike penalty: “It’s 3 points.” On a follow-up, he said he didn’t really see what happened to draw the flag.
Marcus Allen Has 3 Career Starts
Allen, 26, was a fifth-round pick of the Steelers in 2018 out of Penn State. He has appeared in 47 career games (with three starts). During those games he has been credited with a total of 55 tackles (33 solo), including two tackles for loss and a pair of quarterback hits.
This season Allen was part of the team’s final round of roster cuts on Aug. 30, 2022, but he was re-signed to the 53-man roster two days later as has appeared in all 14 games this season.