Steelers coach Tomlin a trendsetter in going for 2-point conversions

When NFL owners voted in May to change the extra-point rules for this season, everyone had their predictions on which coach would be the trendsetter and embrace the analytics. Would New England’s Bill Belichick take the math and run to more points? Or would NFL contrarian Chip Kelly, coach of the Philadelphia Eagles, be the first to kick aside the old-school approach to PATs?

Turns out it is Steelers coach Mike Tomlin, whose offense is 3-for-3 on 2-point conversions through the first two weeks of the season. The Steelers went for 2 after their first touchdown Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers and again midway through the second quarter.

According to Elias Sports Bureau, the Steelers became the first team since 1998 to make a 2-point conversion in the first quarter of a game since October 1998, when the Indianapolis Colts faked an extra point. The previous time a team made a 2-point conversion in the first quarter of a game from a traditional offensive alignment was the Denver Broncos in 1997.

“We don’t practice it this much to not do it,” Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said. “We’ve done it every single day, from OTAs to minicamp to training camp. We just finally got (Tomlin) out of doing it on Wednesdays. We’re still doing it Thursday and Friday.

“It’s something that we’ve practiced a lot and feel comfortable with. I tried to tell you guys early on that we’d do it, and I don’t think you guys quite believed it. It’s something we feel comfortable with.”

Twenty one of the 32 teams in the league have not attempted a 2-point conversion yet this season. Only the Colts and Buffalo Bills have also attempted more than one.

The math suggests going for 2 after every touchdown is the correct call for coaches, at least for those with confidence in their offenses.

The league average on 2-point conversions is around 50 percent. With the extra-point kick being moved back to a 33-yard attempt, where kickers make an average of about 93 percent of their attempts, it makes more sense to go for 2 from a strictly mathematical perspective.

Roethlisberger and quarterbacks coach Randy Fichtner sit down Thursday and list their favorite 2-point plays for the upcoming opponent. They practice those plays against the scout team defense for two days before meeting again with Tomlin and offensive coordinator Todd Haley a night before the game to retool their list of favorites.

“That’s an every week thing,” said Roethlisberger, who was named the AFC offensive player of the week after throwing for 369 yards and three touchdowns against the 49ers. “If we don’t use them, we’ll carry them over. Even if we do use some, we’ll carry them over. In years past, when you ran a 2-point play, you’d throw it out until the end of the year. We feel like we’re going to be a team that’s going to do it enough that it’s going to be hard to get a read on us.”

Roethlisberger said it is predetermined before the game if the Steelers will go for 2 after their first touchdown. He said on most occasions it is predetermined after the second touchdown, too. After that, Tomlin lets the game situation dictate his decision, Roethlisberger said.

Against the 49ers, the Steelers went up, 8-0, and then, 16-3, by making their 2-point conversions. Not only are the Steelers good at converting their 2-point attempts (they are 13 for 16 under Tomlin), but there is the added benefit of giving opposing coaches something to think about early in games.

“If you’re up, 8-0, and then they score they have a decision to make,” Roethlisberger said. “Do you go for the extra point and try to make it up later? Or do you go for 2? If you don’t get it, then you start with the scenarios and situations. The sheets the coaches carry around have to change. It definitely brings a different aspect to the game.”

It’s already giving this week’s opponent, St. Louis coach Jeff Fisher, something to think about before the game.

“Very impressed,” said Fisher, who was the head of the competition committee that put forth the resolution to change the PAT. “They have 2-point plays that are working. Obviously, we’ll have to spend a lot of time on it. We’ll see more and more of this as the season goes on.”

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