Monday night against the San Diego Chargers, Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin will be looking to accomplish something that he’s yet to do since he was hired in 2007, win in the state of California.
Since he took over as head coach, Tomlin and the Steelers are 0-3 on the road against California teams and that includes two loses to the Oakland Raiders in 2012 and 2013 and another loss in 2011 to the San Francisco 49ers. In fact the Steelers are winless in their last five games in the state of California.
The Steelers last win in the Golden State just so happened to come against the Chargers in a 2005 Week 5 Monday night game. They won that contest 24-22 as quarterback Ben Roethlisberger completed 17 of his 26 pass attempts for 225 yards and a touchdown in that affair. He also rushed for a score.
Roethlisberger, of course, won’t be under center Monday night so veteran backup Mike Vick will make his second-consecutive start in his absence. Vick hasn’t fared well in road games against California teams, either, as he is 1-4 for his career. His only win came way back in 2004 when his Atlanta Falcons beat the 49ers 21-19. Vick, however, only completed 13 of his 22 pass attempts in that game for 163 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
Vick’s last trip to California certainly wasn’t a memorable one as his New York Jets team was shutout 31-0 by the Chargers. In that game, Vick took over at halftime for an ineffective Geno Smith and he completed just 8 of his 19 pass attempts for a measly 47 yards in the games’ final two quarters. After that game, Vick admitted that he wasn’t as prepared as he should’ve been.
“Maybe I didn’t prepare or I wasn’t prepared, but I’ll tell you what, it won’t happen again,” Vick said, according to the New York Post.
This time around, Vick will have plenty of time prepare for the Chargers as the Steelers will have had more than a week’s worth of practice being as they last played a game Thursday night.
California’s state motto is: “Eureka!” meaning, “I have found it! For the sake of the Steelers Monday night, hopefully they can find Tomlin his first win in the Golden State. They certainly need it.
Steelers Last 6 Road Games Against California Teams
2013 – Week 8 – Sun, Oct 27 @ 4:05 PM ET at Oakland Raiders – L, 18-21
2012 – Week 3 – Sun, Sep 23 @ 4:25 PM ET at Oakland Raiders – L, 31-34
2011 – Week 15 – Mon, Dec 19 @ 8:30 PM ET at San Francisco 49ers – L, 3-20
2006 – Week 5 – Sun, Oct 8 @ 8:15 PM ET at San Diego Chargers – L, 13-23
2006 – Week 8 – Sun, Oct 29 @ 4:15 PM ET at Oakland Raiders – L, 13-20
2005 – Week 5 – Mon, Oct 10 @ 9:00 PM ET at San Diego Chargers – W, 24-22
