DETROIT — Sunday’s Pittsburgh Steelers victory was notable for reasons that go beyond beating a quality opponent on the road or keeping sole possession of first place.
The 29-24 triumph against the Detroit Lions clinched a 22nd consecutive non-losing season for the Steelers. It also was Mike Tomlin’s 200th victory as coach (when counting postseason wins).
Tomlin, 53, is 192-113-2 in the regular season and 8-11 in postseason games. In his 19th season — all with the Steelers — Tomlin has never presided over a season that ended worse than 8-8.
Sunday’s win improved the Steelers to 9-6. They finish the season with a game at the Cleveland Browns next week and a likely winner-take-all AFC North matchup with the Baltimore Ravens at home in Week 18.
Tomlin is the 11th coach to achieve 200 wins. He entered Sunday with the 10th-most regular season wins in NFL history, one behind Hall of Fame former Steelers coach Chuck Noll (193).
The 19 consecutive non-losing seasons to start Tomlin’s career are by far the most of any NFL coach; no one else started a career with more than 14 in a row. Longtime Dallas Cowboys coach Tom Landry, however, has a longer streak of non-losing seasons at any point over his career. He has 21, the only streak by a coach longer than Tomlin’s.
The Steelers’ run of non-losing seasons, though, began in 2004 — three years before Tomlin was hired. The franchise run of 22 consecutive non-losing seasons surpasses the aforementioned Landry-led Cowboys (21 seasons from 1965-85) for the longest run ever.
Back to Tomlin. Only Hall of Famers Don Shula (51 years old) and Curly Lambeau (48) reached 200 wins at a younger age. And Tomlin’s 19 overall seasons with a .500-or-better record (regardless of whether they are consecutive or not) is tied for the fourth-most in NFL history with Marty Schotenheimer. Only Shula (24 non-losing seasons), Andy Reid (23) and Bill Belichick (21) have more.
