The Pittsburgh Steelers enter the final five games of the season sitting with a 6-6 mark and thanks to their tough slate to close out the campaign, head coach Mike Tomlin's streak is in big trouble.
That streak is, of course, the consecutive seasons without a losing record. In his 18 years on the job, the Steelers have never had a losing season under Tomlin.
The NFL record for a head coach is officially 21, which is held by Dallas Cowboys legend Tom Landry, but Tomlin holds the mark for the longest streak to begin a coaching career.
The closest the Steelers came to a losing season under Tomlin was an 8-8 mark, something the team has done three times (2012, 2013, 2019).
Here's a look at Pittsburgh's remaining games that will determine if the streak continues or dies.
Pittsburgh Steelers' remaining schedule
Week 14: at Baltimore Ravens
Week 15: vs. Miami Dolphins
Week 16: at Detroit Lions
Week 17: at Cleveland Browns
Week 18: vs. Baltimore Ravens
The toughest games on that slate are the two against the Ravens, one of which will be on the road, and the one against the Lions, which is an away game for Pittsburgh.
Granted, Baltimore and Detroit have not been at their best this season, and especially lately, but the Steelers aren't the kind of team that will definitely capitalize on those struggles and those contests are toss-ups, at best.
The Steelers will definitely be underdogs in Baltimore, and that could also be the case in Week 18 at home against the Ravens, depending on what the two teams show in the coming weeks. Pittsburgh will definitely be an underdog in Detroit.
The Dolphins present the next toughest challenge after the Ravens and Lions.
It has been a brutal season for Miami, but head coach Mike McDaniel and Co. Have managed to turn things around and just went 3-0 in November. One of those wins came against the same Buffalo Bills who beat the Steelers on Sunday.
The Browns are no doubt the easiest of the group, but bear in mind the Steelers have to go into Cleveland to win that game and AFC North matchups are rarely gimmes, especially for the road team.
Pittsburgh beat Cleveland earlier this season, but that was with rookie quarterback Dillon Gabriel under center. The Browns figure to have Shedeur Sanders at quarterback for this game and he has looked more competent than Gabriel.
The Steelers will have to go 3-2 the rest of the way in order to keep Tomlin's streak alive. After what we've seen from Pittsburgh this season, we'd say there's a less than 50/50 chance that happens.
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