Breaking Down John Harbaugh, Mike Tomlin’s Ravens-Steelers Head-to-Head Record

The stakes couldn’t be higher for the 40th meeting between Harbaugh and Tomlin, a Week 18 clash with the AFC North title on the line.

Tomlin (left) and Harbaugh (right) will meet for the 40th time in Week 18. / Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

Sunday night's clash between the Ravens and Steelers is more than just a high-stakes regular season matchup. It’s yet another chapter in the lengthy book of the head-to-head rivalry between Baltimore coach John Harbaugh and his Pittsburgh counterpart Mike Tomlin, the two longest-tenured active coaches in the NFL.

Sunday night’s showdown between the Steelers and Ravens, in which the AFC North title and a playoff berth are on the line, will be the 40th meeting between Tomlin and Harbaugh, the second-most meetings between rival coaches, trailing only legendary Bears coach George Halas and Packers coach Curly Lambeau, who met an NFL-record 49 times between 1921 and 1953.

As such, Sunday's primetime Steelers-Ravens battle will mark just the second time two NFL coaches have met 40 times in a head-to-head in league history. So who has had the edge in the historic Harbaugh-Tomlin coaching matchup?

Harbaugh vs. Tomlin record

Coach	Wins	Losses
John Harbaugh	17	22
Mike Tomlin	22	17

Harbaugh vs. Tomlin playoff record

Tomlin and Harbaugh have played to a 2–2 stalemate in the Ravens and Steelers’ head-to-head playoff history in four prior matchups. Here's a closer look at the results.

Date	Round	Result
1/18/09	AFC championship game	Steelers win 23–14
1/15/11	AFC divisional round	Steelers win 31–24
1/03/15	AFC wild card	Ravens win 30–17
1/11/25	AFC wild card	Ravens win 28–14

Here's a closer look at some of the most memorable Ravens-Steelers games of the Harbaugh-Tomlin era, courtesy of the Ravens’ team website.

What's at stake in Steelers vs. Ravens Week 18 game?

AFC North title

Should the Steelers (9–7) defeat Baltimore, Pittsburgh will win the division by virtue of its superior head-to-head record against the Ravens, whom Pittsburgh defeated back in Week 14. Meanwhile, should the Ravens (8–8) defeat Pittsburgh, Baltimore will claim the AFC North title given that its intradivisional record would be superior to the Steelers’, in accordance with the NFL’s tiebreaker procedures. So on Sunday night, the winner goes to the postseason and the loser goes home.

But the division isn’t all that’s at stake.

Harbaugh, Tomlin’s respective job statuses

While it might seem far-fetched to think that either of the Steelers or Ravens could move on from successful, Super Bowl-winning coaches such as Tomlin and Harbaugh, buzz about the statuses of both longtime coaches has emerged at various points over the course of the 2025 season. The notion of the proverbial seat being hot isn't one that either Tomlin or Harbaugh are sweating, but hey, it’s the NFL. Crazier things have happened, right?

Aaron Rodgers’s future

Earlier in the year, the 42-year-old Rodgers had said that he was “pretty sure” that the 2025 campaign would be the last of his Hall of Fame career. But in comments made this week in the lead-up to the Ravens-Steelers clash, Rodgers left the door open to a potential return, noting hs pending free agency after this season. Anything could happen, but there's a realistic chance that Sunday could be the final time Rodgers throws a pass as an NFL quarterback.

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