Winning 8 games in the NFL isn’t easy. Heck, just look at a team like the Cleveland Browns or Jacksonville Jaguars (well, before this year). Some franchises would kill for an 8-win season. For the Pittsburgh Steelers, it is the expectation and the standard which is to be upheld from the likes of Chuck Noll to Bill Cowher and now to Mike Tomlin.
While Chuck Noll and Bill Cowher had longer tenures in the Steel City than Tomlin, so far, Tomlin has accomplished something neither of the aforementioned coaches ever did.
Never had a losing season.
Every year when the Steelers claim their 8th win of the season, it clinches the fact the team won’t lose more games than they won - a truly amazing feat in the free agency/salary cap era.
Tomlin has been blessed with great players, and a franchise quarterback, but his record speaks for itself. The Steelers’ 8-2 record is not only a tremendous start to the year, but the best start of their first 10 games since the 9-1 start of the 2004 season, Ben Roethlisberger’s rookie season.
At this point last season, the Steelers were 5-5, and their playoff hopes and dreams were in serious doubt. However, the script has certainly been flipped this season, as they sit atop the AFC and hold a huge lead in the AFC North. What might be the scariest part of this team is how they still haven’t reached their full potential.
Nonetheless, kudos to Mike Tomlin for another non-losing season. The next step is to win the division, secure home field advantage and get after the seventh Lombardi trophy in franchise history.