Mike Tomlin TNF record: Steelers vs. Browns is a trap game in the making

When the 2024 NFL season began, there was reason to believe that this upcoming Thursday Night Football game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cleveland Browns would have major playoff implications. On paper, these teams looked like they could compete for one of the seven playoff spots in the AFC. Unfortunately, on paper today, the game looks nowhere near as promising as it did a couple of months ago.

The Steelers just won their fifth game in a row, pulling off a massive victory against the Baltimore Ravens to extend their AFC North lead. At 8-2, they're now closer to the AFC's No. 1 seeded Kansas City Chiefs than they are to the Ravens — the second-place team in the AFC North.

On the flip side, the Browns lost their sixth game in their last seven tries, losing by three scores against the lowly New Orleans Saints. They're now 2-8 on the season and will likely end up making a very early selection in the 2025 NFL Draft.

These teams are headed in completely opposite directions, giving NFL fans reason to believe that the Steelers will win this game comfortably. While that can end up being the case, Mike Tomlin's record on Thursday Night Football, as outlined by Madison Williams of SI, might suggest otherwise.

"There's one glaring statistic that's hard to ignore when analyzing the prime-time clash: Since Pittsburgh hired coach Mike Tomlin in 2007, the Steelers are 1–7 inThursday Night Football on the road. Three of those losses were to the Browns. More specifically, Pittsburgh is 0–7 since 1980 when competing against AFC North opponents on the road on Thursday night. Yikes."

Mike Tomlin's TNF record makes game vs. Browns the ultimate trap game

Tomlin is considered by many to be one of, if not the best head coach in the NFL for good reason. He has gone 181-102 in his 18 years of being Pittsburgh's head coach, and has never finished a season with a losing record. Despite all he has accomplished, especially in the regular season, Tomlin's teams, for whatever reason, have struggled mightily on Thursday Night Football. The Steelers are searching for their first win since 1980 on a Thursday night on the road against an AFC North opponent. They've lost each of their last seven in this situation.

Playing on Thursday night is tough, but a coach as accomplished as Tomlin having struggles to this extent is really tough to comprehend.

In addition to Tomlin's struggles in these scenarios, there are reasons to believe that the Steelers have set themselves up to fall in a trap game like this one.

Jameis Winston has the capability of putting together a masterful game in the air, as we saw him do earlier this season against the Baltimore Ravens. The games Pittsburgh has lost this season have come against subpar teams like the Indianapolis Colts and Dallas Cowboys. The Browns would fit into that same category. Lastly, the Steelers are coming off such a high point with their Week 11 win. Would it be surprising to see them take their foot off the gas a bit just four days after that?

Again, can the Steelers win this? Of course. Will they? Possibly. Does it look like an easy trap game? Absolutely. At the very least, this has the feel of a close game that could go either way, which is not what a matchup between an 8-2 and 2-8 team should normally be.