Pittsburgh Steelers

Why don't NFL coaches take out their superstars during blowouts?

Published Nov. 15, 2016 2:03 p.m. ET

Chris Chase

Picture it: Pittsburgh, Sunday night. The Steelers are up 36-7 over the Kansas City Chiefs approaching the halfway point of the fourth quarter. The rain is coming down so hard you half expected an ark to be floating down the three rivers. And there's Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh's quarterbacking giant, one of the toughest guys to ever suit up for the position but one who's also missed games in nine of his 12 seasons (including four last year) coming out for a series. Next to him was Le'Veon Bell, the best running back in the game, taking carries with his team up by 29 points.

The Steelers were up four touchdowns plus a two-point conversion. You could have put modern-day Terry Bradshaw in the game and Pittsburgh still would have won (and given the way the game was going, Terry would have thrown for two TDs, including a picturesque deep ball to Antonio Brown). Mike Tomlin still fed Bell. He kept in Roethlisberger, despite his injury history, despite the rain and despite the fact that there was absolutely no reason for either of them to be anywhere near a huddle.

Why? Mike Tomlin is the type of coach who goes for two on the opening touchdown of the game. He knows the value of risk and reward, and it's impossible to believe Tomlin can't comprehend the risk involved with continuing to play his starters in a situation that has no possibility for reward.

It's not just Tomlin, though he's done this before (and arguably something even worse). Here are a few examples from this season. Note we're not talking about games that are theoretically close. A three-touchdown lead with five minutes left, while just about unassailable, is still close enough in today's NFL to keep the starters on the field. This is for games like the ones below:

• Week 3: Philadelphia 34, Pittsburgh 3. Tomlin, again, this time with the situation reversed, kept in Roethlisberger late into last week's blowout loss to the Eagles. And -- get this -- he had Brown fielding a punt with 34 seconds left in the game. Sure, he called fair catch and probably was only going to call fair catch, but what's the point?

Tomlin wasn't alone. Doug Pederson sent out Carson Wentz for every drive and had him throwing passes as late as midway through the fourth quarter. Wentz is no Roethlisberger. You could argue that as a rookie he needs as many snaps and reps as possible. That's nonsense. There's nothing to be gained from handing off and having to throw a few short passes but everything to be lost. I mean, the Eagles took out running backs Ryan Mathews and Darren Sproles -- neither touched the ball in the final quarter -- but left in their star rookie quarterback?

Week 3: Arizona 40, Tampa Bay 7. A 26-point lead wasn't enough for Bruce Arians to pull the ever-brittle Carson Palmer. It took getting to the final 33-point spread before he pulled the trigger for Drew Stanton. Overall though, Arians earned a passing grade for keeping his stars healthy. What about the Bucs? It brings up the interesting question about whether it's worth leaving a young, franchise quarterback in a game to put up garbage numbers against a defense now playing soft formations. (Though, it should be noted, Jameis Winston couldn't even do that against the Cards.)

I'd respect a counterargument that young players need all the time they can get. Still, I say pull him. He's not going to learn anything he doesn't already know by throwing checkdown passes. Call it a day, give him a pat on the rear, tell him "we'll get 'em next week" and let the future of your franchise sit down without running the possibility of getting RG3'd. Just look at the carnage through four weeks of the NFL season. There have already been six quarterbacks knocked out of service. You can't put these guys in bubble wrap, but you can use common sense to take them out of harm's way.

Week 1: Pittsburgh 38, Washington 16. This isn't an egregious one like having Antonio Brown return a punt with 30 seconds left in a 31-point blowout, but it speaks to the mindset of an NFL coach. Roethlisberger and the Steelers shut the door on the 'Skins with a touchdown just after the two-minute warning. After a futile Redskins drive ended with an end-zone interception, there were 18 seconds left to kill for Pittsburgh to go 1-0. And who comes out to kneel? Roethlisberger, of course. Obviously this is not like the others -- it's a non-contact play, and unless you're Joe Pisarcik there's little way to screw it up. But why Roethlisberger at all? What's the point? It's not like it's baseball and he's coming back for a complete game. He's doing mop-up duty. It's meaningless.

It happens almost everywhere. Tom Coughlin was notorious for leaving Eli Manning in too deep on either end of a blowout. Andy Reid did it to Alex Smith in last year's playoffs. Even the great Bill Belichick isn't immune. Matt Cassel got into six games during the Pats' undefeated 2007 season (each very late with the team up by three scores or more), but there were games, like the one against Washington, when Brady was under center at 38-0 into the fourth quarter. Few players want to injure another, but don't believe there weren't some Redskins defenders hoping to put a lick on Brady as message to him and Belichick and as a sort of catharsis for getting shown up by them both. That year there were plenty of defenses written for Belichick for leaving in Brady (it wasn't just the Redskins game), but those basically centered on the conceit that who's to argue with the best coach in the NFL, particularly when he's in the midst of an undefeated season?

The logic is moronic. You can drive a car with your feet, too, but that doesn't mean it's a good idea.

NFL coaching is one of the last places in sports that hasn't been affected by the statistical revolution. Going for two and not punting on fourth downs should happen far more often than they do. The accepted reason is that a coach who breaks the mold draws attention to himself. Better to punt on fourth-and-1 from the opponent's 42 than go for it and fail. Everybody likes a maverick until he loses.

That's unfortunately what it's going to take to stop this nonsense -- an injury to a major player. Until someone gets burned, the coaches will keep risking the health of his players rather than being the vicim of a historic comeback.

Roethlisberger's knee survived playing in the rain last night. Brown didn't get a concussion returning those punts. Manning never was lost for the season while playing in a frivolous situation. But just because Brady didn't get hurt when the Pats had unbeatable leads in 2007 doesn't mean Belichick was right to leave him in the game. The game is too dangerous and stars are too vulnerable. Take 'em out.