The NFL is doing everything it can to give Mike Tomlin his first losing season as Steelers head coach
Whether or not you think Mike Tomlin's tenure in Pittsburgh has run its course, his third all-time mark of 17 consecutive winning seasons will likely never be seen again. Only two seasons shy of tying Bill Belichick's run from 2001 to 2019, Coach T is a generational talent at HC. But one look at the […]
Whether or not you think Mike Tomlin's tenure in Pittsburgh has run its course, his third all-time mark of 17 consecutive winning seasons will likely never be seen again.
Only two seasons shy of tying Bill Belichick's run from 2001 to 2019, Coach T is a generational talent at HC.
But one look at the league's hardest schedule makes you wonder if the NFL is trying to end his streak:
A gauntlet down the backstretch
As you can see, the Pittsburgh Steelers have a challenging, but winnable first 10 weeks of the season that include a bye week, and a few teams that could be competing for placing in the top five of next year's draft via the Commanders, Raiders, and Giants.
But then, the NFL got together and decided to stack the back of the Steelers' schedule with not only every divisional game but two teams that were in the 2022 Super Bowl via Kansas City and Philadelphia.
Playing the Bengals, Browns and Ravens twice is hard enough, and that's when they are spread out across 18 weeks. But to have to play in the toughest division in football and all within a eight-week period…
That's insane.
Sure there are questions about Joe Burrow's health in Cincinnati, Deshaun Watson's ability to play QB in Cleveland, and a regression in Baltimore, but two of those three teams were in the playoffs last year, all three had winning records, and the Bengals with a healthy Joe Burrow have been a lock to make it to the AFC championship.
Mix in a Chiefs team looking to repeat and an Eagles squad that is reloaded and aiming to get the bad taste of last year's finish out of their mouth, and you'll be hard-pressed to find a two-month stretch harder than what Pittsburgh is up against.
And sure, I know Coach Tomlin is big on not seeking comfort or wallowing in your fears, but this stretch is outright dangerous.
What makes the AFC North so competitive is the physicality that each team plays with, and the rivalries that extend deep into the history of the sport.
So this goes one of two ways for Pittsburgh in my opinion.
Either they build up a callus and propel themselves to a Super Bowl run, or the team is a shell of themselves due to injury.
Time will tell.
