With two games left in the 2025 NFL regular season, the playoff picture is still in flux for the Pittsburgh Steelers. There are multiple scenarios - wins, losses, ties - that could determine whether Pittsburgh punches its ticket to the postseason or hands the AFC North crown to the Ravens. But one thing is already locked in: another winning season for Mike Tomlin and the Steelers.
Pittsburgh’s road win over the red-hot Detroit Lions didn’t just keep their playoff hopes alive - it added another chapter to one of the most remarkable streaks in NFL coaching history. Tomlin has now delivered his 16th winning season, and for the 19th straight year, he's avoided a losing record.
That’s not just impressive - it’s unprecedented. No other head coach in league history has opened a career with such sustained success.
Zoom out a bit, and the consistency runs even deeper. Since the franchise moved on from the Chuck Noll “Steel Curtain” era and into the modern era led by Bill Cowher and then Tomlin, Pittsburgh has stacked up 27 winning seasons.
Just four .500 campaigns. Only three losing ones.
And in that span? Two more Lombardi Trophies and four Super Bowl appearances.
This isn’t just a culture of winning - it’s a blueprint.
Since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970, the Steelers have posted 42 winning seasons. Only nine losing years.
That’s a level of organizational steadiness that most franchises can only dream about. And with this latest winning campaign, the Steelers now hold the NFL record for most consecutive seasons without a losing record - 22 - breaking the previous mark held by Tom Landry’s Dallas Cowboys from 1965 to 1985.
Think about that. The last time the Steelers had a losing record, 50 Cent’s “In da Club” was topping the charts. Now, 50 is playing nostalgia sets at college football games, and Tomlin’s still out here stacking wins.
And yet, there are folks - some even claiming to be Steelers fans - who scoff at this consistency. The “Mediocre Mike” crowd is out there, chirping on social media, dismissing another winning year as if it’s some sort of participation trophy.
But let’s be real: winning in the NFL is hard. Really hard.
Just look at the Detroit game. The Steelers got explosive plays from Jaylen Warren, who broke off two 45-yard touchdown runs.
They got big-time throws from Aaron Rodgers, who racked up 266 passing yards. They even got a safety from Kyle Dugger.
And yet, it still came down to a missed 37-yard field goal late in the game. That’s life in the NFL.
It’s rarely easy. It’s always earned.
Across the league, Week 16 was a reminder of just how fragile success can be. Buffalo had to grind out a tough road win in Cleveland.
Kansas City saw its playoff seeding take a hit after their star quarterback went down. And the Patriots - who’ve been out of the spotlight for most of the season - pulled off a stunner that pushed the Ravens to the edge of playoff elimination.
For Pittsburgh, the math is simple: one more win or tie by the Steelers, or one more loss or tie by the Ravens, and the AFC North is theirs.
But regardless of how the next two weeks shake out, what’s happening in Pittsburgh isn’t luck. It’s not superstition.
It’s not the black-and-gold uniforms somehow carrying mystical powers. It’s the product of structure, stability, and smart football decisions - the kind that have defined the franchise for decades.
It starts at the top. The late Dan Rooney built a culture focused on long-term competitiveness.
That meant hiring the right coaches, giving them time, and surrounding them with a front office built to support - not panic. At the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex, that philosophy still lives on.
The Steelers don’t chase headlines. They chase wins.
Since Tomlin took over in 2007, the Steelers have won 192 regular-season games. That’s the 10th-most wins by a head coach in NFL history.
And here’s the kicker - every coach ahead of him on that list has coached at least two more seasons and 19 more games. When you look at winning percentage among the top 20 coaches all-time, Tomlin ranks seventh.
Only two teams - the Patriots (207) and Packers (195) - have more regular-season wins than the Steelers since Tomlin took the reins. So if this is “mediocrity,” then what exactly are the other 29 teams doing?
The truth is, Mike Tomlin’s run in Pittsburgh is one of the great coaching achievements of the modern NFL. It’s not flashy.
It doesn’t always come with division titles or playoff runs. But it’s consistent.
It’s resilient. And it’s built to last.
In a league that chews up and spits out coaches, quarterbacks, and front office regimes every few years, the Steelers have chosen a different path - one rooted in patience, belief, and a relentless commitment to doing things the right way.
And once again, it’s paying off.