Since being hired by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2007, Mike Tomlin has been one of the best coaches in the NFL. If there’s one thing he’s struggled with, though, it’s getting his team ready to play a Thursday night game on the road.
In his 18 seasons on the job, Tomlin has been the coach for a total of 11 Thursday night road games, and in those games the Steelers have gone 2-9.
Tomlin’s Thursday night woes continued in Week 12 in Cleveland where the Browns pulled off a 24-19 upset. With the loss against the Browns, it means the Steelers are now 0-4 in Thursday night road games over the last five years.
The fact that the Steelers lost against the Browns is remarkable because it continued an ugly losing streak that has now lasted for 44 years. Since 1980, the Steelers have played a total of eight divisional road games on Thursday nights and have gone 0-8 in those games, which includes going 0-6 under Tomlin.
That’s right: Every time the Steelers have played a division opponent on the road on Thursday, they’ve lost. You can check the list of games below.
They will object |
Score |
Date |
Steelers at Oilers (AFC HQ) |
Oilers 6-0 over Steelers |
December 4, 1980 |
Steelers at Jaguars (AFC Central) |
Jaguars 20-6 over Steelers |
December 2, 1999 |
Steelers at Browns (AFC North) |
Browns 13-6 over Steelers |
December 10, 2009 |
Steelers at Crows (AFC North) |
Ravens 22-20 over Steelers |
November 28, 2013 |
Steelers at Crows (AFC North) |
Ravens 26-6 over Steelers |
September 11, 2014 |
Steelers at Browns (AFC North) |
Browns 21-7 over Steelers |
November 14, 2019 |
Steelers at Browns (AFC North) |
Browns 29-17 over Steelers |
September 22, 2022 |
Steelers at Browns (AFC North) |
Browns 24-19 over Steelers |
November 21, 2024 |
No player on the current roster was born the last time the Steelers won a Thursday road game against a division opponent and Tomlin was just 8 years old.
Not only are the Steelers 0-8 in these games, but they are also 1-7 against the spread. Basically, betting on the Steelers in this situation has been a surefire way to lose money for the past 44 years. The Steelers were favored by 3.5 points going into their loss to Cleveland on Thursday night.
Overall, the Steelers are 4-15 in Thursday night road games since 1980, but all four of those wins have come against non-division opponents.
The only good news for the Steelers is that there are no more Thursday games left on their schedule.
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