Even in his final decade without a playoff win, Mike Tomlin retained his superpower. His uncanny ability to win tight, one-possession games was unmatched. Some might call it luck, but after 20 years of a literal and figurative sterling record, it wasn’t just chance. His ability to keep the team calm and composed in the game’s final moments made him and the Steelers clutch. Can Mike McCarthy match Tomlin’s mark? And how good has McCarthy been in the same situations?
Below are two tables to compare Tomlin and McCarthy’s read in one-possession games. To keep timelines exactly the same, I broke them down into McCarthy’s tenure with the Packers and Tomlin’s time with the Steelers — 2007 to 2018 — the years in which both men coached.