Steelers' Mike Tomlin: Certain penalties are a 'joke'

Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin could be writing a check for his comments on officiating following Sunday's game against the Atlanta Falcons.

NFL executive vice president of football operations Troy Vincent has reached out to Tomlin regarding his comments, and the situation is being reviewed for a fine, according to the NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. Per Rapoport, post-game comments are often given more latitude because of the emotion involved.

Tomlin was asked about Steelers linebacker Bud Dupree's penalty for illegal use of the hands following his team's 41-17 romp over the Falcons. The clubs combined for 14 penalties, with each being flagged for seven of them.

"Those look like legitimate calls, we got to be better there, but some of the other stuff, man, is a joke," Tomlin told reporters, via the Steelers' official website. "We got to get better as a National Football League.

"Man, these penalties are costing people games and jobs. We got to get them correct, and so I'm [angry] about it, to be quite honest with you, but that's all I'm going to say on it."

Tomlin has served on the NFL's competition committee since 2013. The group proposed additional rules for roughing the passer and protecting players in a defenseless position as part of its changes prior to this season.