The Pittsburgh Steelers found a way to earn a playoff berth after escaping Week 18 with a win. Mike Tomlin knows that it's not about how they entered the postseason; it's that they've made it there (though some would argue there's more to it than that).
Regardless, after sneaking away from the season finale with a 26-24 victory over the Baltimore Ravens, the focus quickly shifts to the Steelers' Wild Card matchup against the Houston Texans. The Texans finished the season on a nine-game winning streak while possessing a defense that finished second in both points allowed and yards allowed in 2025.
But lost in the bussle of the bizarre win and the playoff buzz is what Coach Tomlin quietly accomplished on Sunday Night Football.
With the January 4 win over the Ravens, Tomlin earned his 193rd win as the Pittsburgh Steelers' head coach, per NFL GameDay. This ties the legendary Chuck Noll, who coached the Steel Curtain teams of the '70s and '80s and led the Steelers to their first four Super Bowl wins.
What makes Tomlin's accomplishment even more interesting is that he might have been one Tyler Loop missed field goal away from potentially never accomplishing this feat.
Mike Tomlin may have missed this legendary win milestone had the Pittsburgh Steelers lost to the Baltimore Ravens in Week 18
Mike Tomlin has been around for a long time, and the Steelers' head coach hasn't produced so much as a single playoff win in eight years. In the week leading up to the game, ESPN insider Adam Schefter hinted that Week 18 could be Tomlin's last game as coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers, noting that the losing head coach of the Steelers-Ravens game could lose their job with their current team.
Thankfully for Tomlin, Ravens rookie kicker Tyler Loop sliced a 44-yard field goal that would have been the game-winner for Baltimore.
Had Loop made the kick, Tomlin would be sitting at 192 career wins with the Steelers (one behind Noll). This also would have eliminated the Steelers from playoff contention, officially marking nine straight seasons without a playoff win. And had the Steelers and Tomlin elected to mutually part during the 2026 offseason, Tomlin would have ended his Steelers coaching career one game short of tying Noll for career wins in this massive milestone.
Tomlin has an impressive record of 193-114-2 all-time as a head coach. This is in addition to being 8-11 in the postseason.
It's quite the accomplishment to tie Chuck Noll for the most regular-season wins by a head coach in Pittsburgh Steelers history. In order to beat this record, however, this will require Tomlin to come back for the 2026 season. Coach Tomlin is under contract for this coming year, but we'll see how things go against the Houston Texans in the Wild Card round before we get too far ahead of ourselves.