Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin might not be great at getting his team ready to play on the west coast or against opponents with a losing record, but he has managed to do well so far during his career at having his teams ready following bye weeks.
In his first seven years as the Steelers head coach, Tomlin has compiled a 6-1 record in games following the bye week and he also has won six straight.
I researched the post-bye week record for former Steelers head coach Bill Cowher and you might be surprised to learn that he had a 9-7 record following bye weeks during his 15 seasons in Pittsburgh. Keep in mind that the 1993 season had two bye weeks.
The Saints will be coming off a Monday night game when they play the Steelers next weekend and Payton is currently 9-4 in such games.
Steelers Post-Bye Week Record Under Mike Tomlin
| YEAR | WK # | DATE | OPPONENT | SCORE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | 7 | Sun, Oct 21 @ 8:15 PM ET | at Denver Broncos | L, 28 – 31 |
| 2008 | 7 | Sun, Oct 19 @ 1:00 PM ET | at Cincinnati Bengals | W, 38 – 10 |
| 2009 | 9 | Mon, Nov 9 @ 8:30 PM ET | at Denver Broncos | W, 28 – 10 |
| 2010 | 6 | Sun, Oct 17 @ 1:00 PM ET | Cleveland Browns | W, 28 – 10 |
| 2011 | 12 | Sun, Nov 27 @ 8:20 PM ET | at Kansas City Chiefs | W, 13 – 9 |
| 2012 | 5 | Sun, Oct 7 @ 1:00 PM ET | Philadelphia Eagles | W, 16 – 14 |
| 2013 | 6 | Sun, Oct 13 @ 1:00 PM ET | at New York Jets | W, 19 – 6 |
