The New York Giants had an inconsistent run heading into Sunday’s game against the Houston Texans. However, John Harbaugh’s squad ultimately beat the Texans 27-21 in overtime, improving to 4-2-1 this season.

While Harbaugh continues to keep his team on track, some of his recent decisions have raised eyebrows among many. Former Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin has now weighed in on the situation, delivering a blunt remark about his longtime coaching rival that has caught the attention of NFL fans.

Mike Tomlin’s Blunt John Harbaugh Remark Makes Fans Take Notice

The Giants played out a 27-27 tie against the Washington Commanders in Week 5, with Cam Skattebo struggling to make an impact on the ground. He also fumbled in overtime, which raised concerns about whether the team could trust him to take care of the ball in crunch-time situations.

At that point, Skattebo had recorded five fumbles in just 13 career games. Harbaugh later decided to bench Skattebo for the New Orleans Saints game, in which they suffered a 34-27 loss.

While discussing Harbaugh’s decision to sideline Skattebo on Sunday, Tomlin delivered a memorable one-liner.

“Killing a mosquito with an axe,” Tomlin said, later explaining what he meant by the remark.

“By that, I mean an overreaction,” Tomlin said. “Just so your group knows that you mean business, and certainly he had an overreaction or a hyperreaction to their run game wounds.

“He put him on the shelf. Whether he acknowledged he put him on the shelf or not is one thing. He put him on the shelf.”

The comments quickly attracted attention from NFL fans. “This is Jimmy Johnson 101,” one said.

“‘John Harbaugh is ‘killing mosquitoes with an axe,’ says Mike Tomlin, referring to the NYG coach benching Cam Skattebo for fumbling last week and releasing Najee Harris after the player questioned his opportunities. He’s making an example of them to underscore his authority with new team,” former ESPN writer Ed Werder remarked.

“Mike Tomlin is a quote machine and I’m here for all of it,” a fan added.

“Tomlin’s line on the halftime made me laugh: ‘Sometimes you have to kill a mosquito with an axe, as we say in the business,'” a Steelers fan page wrote.

Skattebo was not the only Giants player whose situation came under scrutiny during the discussion, as Tomlin also addressed the team’s decision to release Najee Harris. As Tomlin noted, Harris had spoken about receiving fewer opportunities to carry the ball and struggling to establish a consistent rhythm.

Harris ultimately found himself cut, even though Harbaugh defended the decision, explaining that the move was not personal and that the Giants wanted to make room for other players on the roster.

However, Tomlin continued to defend the importance of establishing authority within a team.

“You can always ease up and be buddy buddy,” Tomlin added. “I just think it’s important at the early stages you establish a rapport, and that’s what he was doing. And certainly it worked in a big way.”

Meanwhile, fans continued showing love for Tomlin’s unfiltered takes.

“Tomlin is the 🐐🐐 I could listen to him for the next 50+ years and never get tired of his insight,” a fan said.

Tomlin and Harbaugh faced each other 40 times as head coaches of the Steelers and Ravens, building one of the NFL’s longest-running coaching rivalries.