Pittsburgh Steelers HC Mike Tomlin has many shortcomings, as fans will hastily point out. One area in which he has inexplicably struggled, however, is playing on the road on Thursdays. We have talked about this a bit leading up to this game, but here’s a fact: almost nobody is worse. And he added to that with his most recent loss against the Browns.
Since the NFL formally started Thursday Night Football, the Steelers unofficially own a 10-6 record. They only played one game under Bill Cowher in 2006 prior to Tomlin, so Tomlin is 10-5. The problem is that it doesn’t include Thursday games that aren’t officially branded Thursday Night Football. And it doesn’t account for the sharp disparity in away games.
According to Pro Football Reference, the Steelers are 2-9 since 2007, Tomlin’s first season, away from home on Thursdays. Only the Cincinnati Bengals and Minnesota Vikings are worse, tied with the New York Giants for the 3rd-worst record with a .182 winning percentage.
| Rk | Team | From | To | G | W | L | T | W% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | DET | 2023 | 2023 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 |
| 2 | IND | 2007 | 2022 | 12 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 83.33 |
| 3 | PHI | 2011 | 2022 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 71.43 |
| 4 | DAL | 2014 | 2024 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 71.43 |
| 5 | BUF | 2013 | 2024 | 10 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 70.00 |
| 6 | GNB | 2007 | 2023 | 12 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 66.67 |
| 7 | DEN | 2007 | 2024 | 11 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 63.64 |
| 8 | SFO | 2010 | 2024 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 62.50 |
| 9 | NWE | 2010 | 2024 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 62.50 |
| 10 | SEA | 2008 | 2023 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 57.14 |
| 11 | KAN | 2012 | 2021 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 57.14 |
| 12 | CHI | 2007 | 2023 | 12 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 50.00 |
| 13 | LAR | 2016 | 2021 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 50.00 |
| 14 | LAC | 2013 | 2023 | 9 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 44.44 |
| 15 | CAR | 2010 | 2023 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 42.86 |
| 16 | ARI | 2008 | 2020 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 40.00 |
| 17 | TAM | 2012 | 2024 | 8 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 37.50 |
| 18 | HOU | 2010 | 2024 | 9 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 33.33 |
| 19 | JAX | 2011 | 2023 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 33.33 |
| 20 | ATL | 2015 | 2022 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 33.33 |
| 21 | NOR | 2007 | 2023 | 13 | 4 | 9 | 0 | 30.77 |
| 22 | BAL | 2010 | 2024 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 28.57 |
| 23 | NYJ | 2007 | 2023 | 11 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 27.27 |
| 24 | WAS | 2008 | 2024 | 12 | 3 | 9 | 0 | 25.00 |
| 25 | TEN | 2008 | 2023 | 8 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 25.00 |
| 26 | LVR | 2008 | 2022 | 8 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 25.00 |
| 27 | MIA | 2009 | 2022 | 9 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 22.22 |
| 28 | CLE | 2011 | 2016 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 20.00 |
| 29 | PIT | 2007 | 2024 | 11 | 2 | 9 | 0 | 18.18 |
| 30 | NYG | 2009 | 2023 | 11 | 2 | 9 | 0 | 18.18 |
| 31 | CIN | 2008 | 2024 | 7 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 14.29 |
| 32 | MIN | 2010 | 2024 | 8 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 12.50 |
Now, you might protest that everybody struggles on the road on short weeks, though not all Thursday games are short weeks. Sometimes, a team has a bye the week before—admittedly, I haven’t accounted for that. But every team will inevitably have that mixed into their numbers. The fact is, many teams fare better than Mike Tomlin’s Steelers.
A total of 13 teams have non-losing records in away games on Thursday, most notably the Indianapolis Colts. The Detroit Lions are 2-0, but that’s too small a sample size. The Colts, however, are 10-2 on the road since 2007, nearly the reverse image of Tomlin.
Both the Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys are 5-2 on the road on Thursdays. Like the Steelers, they enjoy significant home-field advantages. Cowboys fans travel well, but I don’t think the Eagles do as well as Tomlin’s teams.
The Buffalo Bills are 7-3, the Green Bay Packers 8-4, the Denver Broncos 7-4, and the New England Patriots and San Francisco 49ers 5-3. Some of those records aren’t outstanding, but they are not awful like the 2-9 Mike Tomlin owns.
Really, the only team that even comes close to Tomlin’s surprisingly bad record is the Baltimore Ravens. Good teams like the Steelers should win the majority of the time in all circumstances. The Ravens typically fall into that group, too, yet they are 2-5 on the road on Thursdays.
The Browns are 1-4, and the Bengals are 1-6, so the AFC North as a whole is simply terrible under these circumstances. Now, the NFL frequently pits divisional opponents against one another, which has something to do with it. Homefield advantage seems to mean more against divisional rivals. Tomlin’s record certainly seems to point to that.
By the way, if we use only official Thursday Night Football games, then Mike Tomlin is 6-2 at home and 2-8 on the road. The Steelers are currently on a four-game road losing streak on Thursday Night Football games, their last win coming on Christmas Day in Houston against the Texans in 2017. So much for preparation.
