Consistency has been a big theme for Mike Tomlin during his stint as the Pittsburgh Steelers’ head coach. Granted, he hasn’t won a Super Bowl since 2008, but the Steelers also haven’t finished in last place or had a losing record in his tenure.

Another example of consistency for Tomlin has been his record against rookie signal-callers. Over his 17 seasons at the helm of the Steelers, Tomlin has posted a 24-6 record against first-year quarterbacks. The .800 winning percentage is the third-highest of any head coach since 1950, per Steelers.com

Two of those losses came last season, when the Steelers were defeated by C.J. Stroud and the Houston Texans, 30-6, and then Dorian Thompson-Robinson and the Cleveland Browns, 13-10.

This is pertinent information this week, as the Steelers are set to take on the Denver Broncos, a team that sports a rookie quarterback in Bo Nix, who was taken with the No. 12 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.

Nix got his career off on the wrong foot in Week 1 after tossing two picks and just 138 yards in a loss to the Seattle Seahawks. Nix was, however, very impressive during the preseason, which led to him winning the starting job.

The biggest reason for Tomlin’s success against young quarterbacks has to do with the fact that the Steelers typically have a good to elite defense on a yearly basis, no matter the changes on that side of the ball.

And nothing has changed so far in 2024, with Pittsburgh showing what its unit can do right away after a dominant performance against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 1 that should’ve been even worse for Atlanta if not for at least one bad penalty.

If expected starter Justin Fields can simply take care of the football and make enough plays to put some points on the board, the Steelers’ defense should be able to take care of the rest.

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