Raiders Opponent Head Coach Spotlight: Mike Tomlin

After a brutal loss to the Buffalo Bills, the Las Vegas Raiders will be looking to rebound in their home opener at Allegiant Stadium this Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The Steelers are always a talented and competitive team, and when they don’t make the playoffs, they are often just outside of the picture.

This is because of their Coach, Mike Tomlin, who enters his 17th season as head coach of the Steelers, and he has been one of the best coaches in the NFL for nearly that entire period.

Tomlin boasts a 171-102-2 record as a head coach, appearing in 17 postseason games and winning Super Bowl XLIII in the 2008-2009 season. He has never had a losing season as a head coach and has won the AFC North seven times.

Tomlin was the defensive backs coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and then was the Minnesota Vikings’ defensive coordinator before his time in Pittsburgh. His Steelers teams have always had exceptional defenses.

Tomlin runs a 3-4 base defense and likes to blitz often. The Steelers sent a blitz on 31.5 percent of quarterback drop-backs last season, sixth-most in the NFL.

The Steelers have always won with great defenses, from elite pass rushers to top-tier defensive backs. They have those now, with T.J. Watt and Minkah Fitzpatrick. Even if the Steelers are not moving the ball well, they are competing in games because of their great defense, a credit to Tomlin.

While Tomlin has been a successful coach throughout his career, he has a losing record to the Raiders. Matching up with the Silver and Black eight times, Tomlin and the Steelers have only won three of those games.

The Steelers won their most recent game against the Raiders in Week 16 by a final score of 13-10. The game was a cold, defensive slugfest, the kind of game Tomlin has won time and time again.

The Steelers will visit Allegiant Stadium for the first time, and it is a chance for the Raiders to defend their home field for the first time this season.

The Steelers have consistently been one of the most successful and competitive teams in the NFL, and it is largely due to Tomlin.

The Silver and Black return home to Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas to play the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday, Sept. 24, at 8:20 p.m. EDT/5:20 p.m. PDT.

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