Steelers coach Mike Tomlin acknowledged wide receiver Antonio Brown is "a competitor" but said his sideline outburst in Baltimore "doesn't need to happen" and "shouldn't need to happen."
Tomlin said he didn't see Brown throw a Gatorade cooler and pull away from offensive coordinator Todd Haley on the bench but said he heard about it after the game.
Brown was upset because Ben Roethlisberger failed to see him when he was wide open down the field on an incomplete pass. Brown gestured at Roethlisberger as he came off the field and erupted on the sideline.
"A.B. is a competitor, we all know that. It aids him, it aids us," Tomlin said Tuesday at his weekly news conference. "He has to control (his emotions). If not, it can work against him, it can work against us. Those are lessons you learn along the way."
The play on which Brown became upset is a designed play in which he runs a shallow crossing pattern and then has the option to cut his route deep, depending on how the safeties are playing. The Steelers ran a similar play in the AFC championship in New England.
"It doesn't need to happen," Tomlin said about Brown's outburst. "It shouldn't happen. Hopefully, he learned a lesson through that."
The Steelers are 3-1 and tied for the second-best record in the NFL, and Tomlin said "I like the direction we're headed."
Tomlin called the 26-9 victory against the Ravens "a big win for us, a necessary one." He said the Steelers game plan was to try to avoid turnovers and not take chances against a Ravens defense that had 10 takeaways in their first two games. He said turnovers have historically been the difference in the number of close games the teams have had over the years.
"I felt like if we took care of the football, it didn't have to be one of those close games," Tomlins said. "That was a significant element how the game unfolded."
While the Steelers still rank tied for first in the league in penalty yards (316) and are second in number of penalties (37), Tomlin said he was pleased they didn't have any penalties in the kicking game against the Ravens.
"We're working to get our penalties under control as a football team," Tomlin said. "It was a significant step in a hostile game like that to not have any penalties in the kicking game."
