Bill Belichick Gives Revealing Message About Steelers’ Mike Tomlin

During his coaching career against Mike Tomlin, former New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick dominated the series, going 10-3 against Tomlin, including a victory in 2023. Yet Belichick had no secret formula for beating Tomlin. Tomlin has often played with subpar quarterback play over the past five years and has come out on top against most coaches.

Belichick knows how tough it is to play quarterback, especially in the last few seasons before he was fired from New England. But no matter who the quarterback is, Belichick says Tomlin’s teams have always played the same way.

“Mike Tomlin plans the same game every week, no matter who the quarterback was and what year it is. Play good defense, don’t turn the ball over, try to get the running game going, but play good on the ground, get it going against that defense, don’t give up a lot of points and win. I don’t want to say winning is ugly, but winning,” Belichick said.

Tomlin tries to implement a strategy known as ball control, and it has proven to be extremely effective for Tomlin. Despite suboptimal numbers, especially on offense, in recent seasons, Tomlin’s teams have managed to sneak into the playoffs and occasionally beat strong teams.

It all depends on the formula Tomlin comes up with. Is it predictable? Of course it is. But Tomlin wouldn’t get results from his team if he didn’t adopt this form of lackluster winning every week. That’s why, since 2020, no one has won more by a single point in the NFL than the Steelers and Tomlin.

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