Trick or Treat? Mike Tomlin’s record in the month of October

by Joe Kuzma (joe_kuzma) on October 22, 2018

Being a head coach in the NFL means you will be scrutinized.

Being a head coach in the NFL for 12 seasons means you will be criticized often!

Such is the case of Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin, who always appears to catch the ire of Steelers Nation (i.e. the fans) once football’s regular season rolls around at the beginning of September each year. Once fall is ready to arrive, many are calling for the coach’s job.

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However, the opposite trend begins once Halloween candy is passed out and the month of November is on our doorstep: fans once again turn their attention toward playing for another Super Bowl title.

That’s because Mike Tomlin does a consistent job of making adjustments to his teams in the month of October. The headline of this article jokingly asks our readers if Tomlin’s tenth month of the year is up to snuff and as detailed below, it is!

Date	Result	Venue	Opponent	Score
10/7/2007	W		Seattle Seahawks	21 – 0
10/21/2007	L	@	Denver Broncos	28 – 31
10/28/2007	W	@	Cincinnati Bengals	24 – 13
10/5/2008	W	@	Jacksonville Jaguars	26 – 21
10/19/2008	W	@	Cincinnati Bengals	38 – 10
10/26/2008	L		New York Giants	14 – 21
10/4/2009	W		San Diego Chargers	38 – 28
10/11/2009	W	@	Detroit Lions	28 – 20
10/18/2009	W		Cleveland Browns	27 – 14
10/25/2009	W		Minnesota Vikings	27 – 17
10/3/2010	L		Baltimore Ravens	14 – 17
10/17/2010	W		Cleveland Browns	28 – 10
10/24/2010	W	@	Miami Dolphins	23 – 22
10/31/2010	L	@	New Orleans Saints	10 – 20
10/3/2011	L		Baltimore Ravens	14 – 17
10/17/2011	W		Cleveland Browns	28 – 10
10/24/2011	W	@	Miami Dolphins	23 – 22
10/31/2011	L	@	New Orleans Saints	10 – 20
10/3/2012	L		Baltimore Ravens	14 – 17
10/17/2012	W		Cleveland Browns	28 – 10
10/24/2012	W	@	Miami Dolphins	23 – 22
10/31/2012	L	@	New Orleans Saints	10 – 20
10/3/2013	L		Baltimore Ravens	14 – 17
10/17/2013	W		Cleveland Browns	28 – 10
10/24/2013	W	@	Miami Dolphins	23 – 22
10/31/2013	L	@	New Orleans Saints	10 – 20
10/5/2014	W	@	Jacksonville Jaguars	17 – 9
10/12/2014	L	@	Cleveland Browns	10 – 31
10/20/2014	W		Houston Texans	30 – 23
10/26/2014	W		Indianapolis Colts	51 – 34
10/5/2015	W	@	Jacksonville Jaguars	17 – 9
10/12/2015	L	@	Cleveland Browns	10 – 31
10/20/2015	W		Houston Texans	30 – 23
10/26/2015	W		Indianapolis Colts	51 – 34
10/2/2016	W		Kansas City Chiefs	43 – 14
10/9/2016	W		New York Jets	31 – 13
10/16/2016	L	@	Miami Dolphins	15 – 30
10/23/2016	L		New England Patriots	16 – 27
10/1/2017	W	@	Baltimore Ravens	26-9
10/8/2017	L		Jacksonville Jaguars	30-Sep
10/15/2017	W	@	Kansas City Chiefs	19-13
10/22/2017	W		Cincinnati Bengals	29-14
10/7/2018	W		Atlanta Falcons	41 – 17
10/14/2018	W	@	Cincinnati Bengals	28 – 21
Totals	28-16	0.636
Home	17-7	0.708
Away	11-9	0.55

As you can see, October is definitely Mike Tomlin’s strong suit. Including a 2-0 month so far in 2018, the Steelers current head coach has an overall record of 28-16 when pumpkins are being carved.

As no surprise to his detractors, especially going back to as soon as two or three seasons ago, his road record isn’t the best during this month, posting just a two-win margin away from Heinz Field with an 11-2 away record.

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The lion’s share of his success, as no surprise to anyone reading the above stat, comes at home where the Steelers are 28-16 with Tomlin in charge.

With one more game remaining this month, an AFC North battle at Heinz Field with the Cleveland Browns, history suggests the Steelers should handle business this upcoming Sunday… if for only one reason: the game is being played at home in the month of October!