With a little over 13 minutes left in the third quarter of a critical division matchup Sunday, Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin had seen enough.
For nearly 32 game minutes, Tomlin saw his quarterback, Mason Rudolph, guide an uninspired offense to three points against the winless Cincinnati Bengals, a team that looks like the latest spiritual descendant of the 2008 Detroit Lions.
Yet, there the Steelers were, trailing 7-3 as Rudolph struggled. A tipped red-zone interception. Multiple overthrows. Slow processing. All of this contributed to an 8-for-16, 85-yard effort that appeared to be leading toward an end-of-game nightmare scenario.