Tomlin fine with taunting flags: 'We're trying to clean our game up'

Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin remains a proponent of the NFL's increased emphasis against taunting despite the surrounding controversy.

"We're trying to clean our game up," he said Tuesday, per ESPN's Brooke Pryor. "We embrace the responsibility of being the role models that we are. … We understand people at a lower level watch us and mimic what we do."

While taunting calls have been scrutinized all season, they became a massive talking point after the Steelers benefited from a questionable flag against the Chicago Bears on Monday Night Football.

Tomlin sits on the NFL's competition committee, which pushed for officials to enforce taunting penalties more strictly in 2021.

The Steelers haven't been flagged once for taunting this season, while the Bears have had three such calls go against them, according to NFLPenalties.com.