Since the start of the 2008 regular season, the Cincinnati Bengals could always count on facing both John Harbaugh and Mike Tomlin at least twice a year. That will no longer be happening with Harbaugh set to become the next head of the New York Giants, and Tomlin stepping away from coaching entirely for the time being.
It’s the clear end of an era in the AFC North, and the identity of those two organizations will undoubtably change to some degree. Now that the page is being turned, let’s look back at how the Bengals fared against Harbaugh’s Ravens and Tomlin’s Steelers for nearly 20 years.
Bengals finish slightly below .500 against Baltimore with John Harbaugh
Cincinnati went 17-20 against Harbaugh’s Ravens in 37 combined regular season and postseason matchups. The Bengals won 16 of the 36 regular season meetings, and the lone playoff matchup during the 2022-23 postseason.
After Harbaugh won just of his first five meetings against Cincy, coached by Marvin Lewis at the time, he rattled off five wins in the following six contests. The Bengals then won six of the next seven. Harbaugh won six of the ensuing eight, but Joe Burrow got his first win of the series in the next meeting and won three more in the next four, including his fourth-career playoff victory.
There have been plenty of back-and-forth’s between Harbaugh and Cincinnati, but the former University of Cincinnati assistant coach did get the last laugh by winning five of the last six games, including the last one in Week 15 of this past season. The win knocked the Bengals out of playoff contention in 2025.
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Mike Tomlin had much more consistent success against Cincinnati
The Bengals were a mere 11-28 against Tomlin’s Steelers, and 0-1 in their lone playoff game. Tomlin came out the gate red-hot against his new rival club, winning his first four meetings. He was swept in 2009, but then responded with a separate five-game win streak. The series split the next six games, but Pittsburgh would go on to never lose to Lewis again.
Tomlin and the Steelers won 11 consecutive meetings against Cincinnati from 2015-2020. The streak was broken late in 2020 when Ryan Finley won his first and only game as a starting quarterback. It was also Zac Taylor’s first victory over Pittsburgh.
Taylor went 3-1 against Tomlin from 2021-22, but just 2-4 in their final six showdowns. Unlike his luck against Harbaugh, he did manage to beat Tomlin the final time he came to Cincinnati in Week 7 of the 2025 season.
The prime years came toward the end
It took just under 15 years, and perhaps Burrow’s arrival, for the Bengals to learn how to stay competitive both Harbaugh and Tomlin at the same time. Cincinnati went 10-11 against Baltimore and Pittsburgh from 2021-25. Looking closer in that stretch, the Bengals went 7-2 against their rivals from 2021-22, including the playoff victory over the Ravens.
It’s no coincidence Cincinnati went on to make the playoffs in both years and win five total postseason contests. Success against the Steelers and Baltimore has typically led to overall success for the Bengals. Whether or not that changes with new coaches taking over, two decades of battling two of the best coaches of this generation won’t change how Cincinnati views its toughest rivals overnight.
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This story was originally published by A to Z Sports on Jan 17, 2026, where it first appeared in the NFL section. Add A to Z Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.