Glaring Weakness For Steelers' Mike Tomlin In Full Effect During 2024 Season

Fans throughout the world that cheer on the Pittsburgh Steelers are accustom to the franchise playing down to the competition, particularly in the Mike Tomlin era. The head coach, currently in his 18th season, has had a tremendous career, and won't be going anywhere anytime soon after signing a three-year contract extension in the 2024 offseason. The team has gotten off to a hot start and entered Week 12 as the leader in the AFC North by two games (in the loss column). Unfortunately, the Cleveland Browns played like a unit with nothing to lose and upset Pittsburgh, leading to plenty of criticism directed towards Tomlin.

The Steelers had sights on the AFC's number one overall seed, but going 15-2, or even 14-3, was always looked at as a tall task. With that said, one of the losses down the stretch coming against the Browns is far from ideal. Fans in the Steel City, however, probably saw this one coming. One can call it a "trap" game, but it simply comes down to the fact that Tomlin's teams normally playing down to competition on the road when they are favored.

Stat guru Daniel Valente brought up a concerning, but not necessarily surprising, record stat that focuses on the 2024 campaign. Tomlin and his group are playing down to competition, but rising to the occasion when a good team is on the other sideline.

He's spot on. This sums up what Steelers fans have come to know and understand for nearly two decades, but specifically in recent seasons. Tomlin is lauded for never having a losing season, but to go an even .500 in 2024 against organizations underperforming is not what Super Bowl-caliber teams do. Look at the Detroit Lions; Dan Campbell's group is crushing anything in its path.

Once the playoffs rolls around, the bad teams will be out of the picture, but the Steelers need to make sure they can get there first. It'd be nearly impossible to not get in at this point, but with four AFC North games left, and contests against the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs, looking ahead is a bit nerve-racking. Tomlin and co. need to take care of the Cincinnati Bengals twice and the Browns to shut down any talk of playing down to competition.

One of the bigger storylines within the final six weeks of the season is the two matchups with the Bengals. Entering a Week 12 bye, it's a pretty easy argument to put forth that Cincinnati is the best four-win team this late in a season ever. If Pittsburgh thought that it was difficult to beat Cleveland, the franchise has another thing coming when Joe Burrow is trying to play spoiler.

Tomlin receives a lot of credit for his tenure as the Steelers' head coach, and deservedly so, but this is an Achilles Heel that he simply can't seem to shake. Both teams had to play in poor weather on Thursday evening, and the Browns seemed to want the game more. Excuses aside, there was not one reason why Pittsburgh shouldn't have wiped the floor with Cleveland.

Steelers Can't Even Catch A Break With Mini Bye Week Ahead

Thursday Night Football games are often looked at as negative and understandably so. The only positive to take out of it is having a short bye week built into your schedule. Unfortunately, the Bengals will be well rested with a full bye in Week 12.

Having eight wins is nice, but with the difficult schedule that lies ahead, Tomlin and his team have no margin for error, especially against organizations with losing records and nothing to play for aside from pride.

Do you think that Tomlin's trend of playing down to inferior teams is his fault? Let us know in the comments below!

#SteelerNation