Sean Payton has gotten the better of Mike Tomlin as no other coach has

If you were an NFL head coach 17 years ago and you are still stalking a sideline and calling plays today, you’re not merely a survivor; you’re among the best at your craft.

Just four coaches who opened the 2007 season on NFL sidelines are guiding their teams. Two clash Sunday at Empower Field at Mile High when Sean Payton and his Denver Broncos host Mike Tomlin and the Pittsburgh Steelers.

And over those years, Payton has gotten the better of the man who is one of only three people to guide the Steelers in the last half-century.

In fact, no coach with at least three regular-season and postseason games combined has a better mark against Tomlin than Sean Payton, who has never lost to the longtime Steelers head coach.

Mike Tomlin has at least 3 games coached against 32 other coaches, and of that group, Payton is the only one he has yet to beat.

RED-ZONE EFFICIENCY WAS A KEY FOR SEAN PAYTON AND THE SAINTS

During the New Orleans Saints’ three wins with Sean Payton as head coach over Mike Tomlin, New Orleans was 10-for-12 in the red zone in scoring touchdowns, including a perfect 4-for-4 mark in 2014 and 2018 wins.

That’s something that his Broncos must improve in its second game with Bo Nix at quarterback.

One can assert that the Broncos frittered away their best chance to emerge from Seattle victorious in the first half last Sunday, when they squandered three drives that reached the Seahawks red zone in the game’s first 22 minutes. Two ended in field goals and one saw an interception that was followed by a safety shortly thereafter — a safety that wouldn’t have come otherwise. But even when considering those 2 points, 8 out of a possible 21 is the sort of rate that left the door ajar for Seattle.

Continuing Payton’s success against Tomlin’s Steelers starts with fixing this glitch.

THE BRONCOS HAVE SUSTAINED SUCCESS AT HOME AGAINST PITTSBURGH

Further, the Broncos have dominated Tomlin and the Steelers in Denver, winning five of six games — including two playoff duels. Mike Shanahan has a win over Tomlin’s Steelers at home; so does John Fox — with two — along with Gary Kubiak in the 2015 divisional round and Vance Joseph in November 2018. The only Broncos coach who failed to beat Tomlin’s Steelers with an opportunity to do so at home was Josh McDaniels in 2009.

The Broncos haven’t fared as well against the Tomlin-led Steelers in Pittsburgh, falling in 2015, 2020 and 2021 — their only three trips to the Steel City during Tomlin’s stewardship. Per the schedule rotation, the Broncos cannot play in Pittsburgh in the regular season until at least 2026, with a scheduled match there already on the docket for 2027.

That’s far over the horizon, and we’ll keep it there.

For now, the Broncos have a matchup in which their history — and that of Sean Payton — appears to give them an advantage as they look to dodge what would be their fourth 0-2 start since 2019.

MIKE TOMLIN VS. …

(minimum three games)

• Sean Payton: 0-3 (.000)
• Sean McDermott: 1-4 (.200)
• Bill Belichick: 3-10 (.231)
• John Fox: 1-3 (.250)
• Dennis Allen: 1-2 (.333)
• Adam Gase: 1-2 (.333)
• Mike Munchak: 1-2 (.333)
• Doug Pederson: 1-2 (.333)
• Gary Kubiak: 2-2 (.500)
• Andy Reid: 5-5 (.500)
• John Harbaugh: 20-15 (.571)
• Pete Carroll: 3-2 (.600)
• Jack Del Rio: 3-2 (.600)
• Eric Mangini: 3-2 (.600)
• Doug Marrone: 3-2 (.600)
• Zac Taylor: 6-4 (.600)
• Kevin Stefanski: 5-3 (.625)
• Rex Ryan: 4-2 (.667)
• Ron Rivera: 2-1 (.667)
• Jeff Fisher: 3-1 (.750)
• Mike Pettine: 3-1 (.750)
• Pat Shurmur: 3-1 (.750)
• Norv Turner: 3-1 (.750)
• Ken Whisenhunt: 3-1 (.750)
• Marvin Lewis: 20-5 (.800)
• Mike McCarthy: 4-1 (.800)
• Hue Jackson: 5-0-1 (.917)
• Romeo Crennel: 5-0 (1.000)
• Josh McDaniels: 3-0 (1.000)
• Bill O’Brien: 3-0 (1.000)
• Chuck Pagano: 4-0 (1.000)
• Mike Vrabel: 3-0 (1.000)