Putting out fires is somewhere at the top of the list when it comes to the job description for an NFL head coach.

Mike Tomlin knows.

Tomlin has become the Fireman Ed of NFL coaches, given drama that continually surrounds the Pittsburgh Steelers. This week, it was Antonio Brown’s disgust with the lack of a win for a supposed Super Bowl contender and his off-day that resulted in some form of Tomlin discipline.

Two weeks ago, it was Steelers players bashing Le’Veon Bell, whose holdout is a drama of its own.

This all follows the flow from last year, when episodes in one form or another involved Brown, Bell’s camp holdout, since-departed Martavis Bryant, James Harrison, Ben Roethlisberger, a slew of close games, mayhem with the Bengals, the controversial Jesse James catch (ruled otherwise), the tragedy of Ryan Shazier’s spinal injury and even Tomlin himself fueling headlines by daring to talk smack about the Patriots, two weeks before the showdown.

That’s the Steelers' identity now. They are Drama Kings.

MORE NFL

Then again, every team has issues to work through. The true measure is how they respond.

That’s why the reports out of Pittsburgh this week, that Tomlin "laid down the law" in a team meeting, demonstrated how some of the perceptions about the coach allowing discipline to run amok — a theme that legendary Steelers quarterback Terry Bradshaw has expressed — may be off-base. Yes, he’s a "player’s coach," one of the few I’ve spotted in the locker room during routine, mid-week interview periods. I still don’t get how it went so sideways last year with the now-retired Harrison, whose pride was reflected in his work ethic, but Tomlin generally seems to relate well.

No, he hasn’t won the Big One in a decade, but that doesn’t make him a slouch. He’s won the exact number of Super Bowls as Mike McCarthy and Sean Payton, while also winning more games in his first 11 seasons (124, including postseason) than any other coach in NFL history besides Don Shula.

Yet this might represent Tomlin’s toughest task yet. While he’s had worse teams before, the potential for this talented team — and a tightening window as Roethlisberger and other core players age — puts the onus on the coach to push the right buttons to avoid squandering opportunity. In recent years, the Steelers have been the NFL’s biggest tease, unable to beat New England and last year Jacksonville too.

The challenge, though, goes beyond dealing with the drama.

Did you see Pittsburgh’s defense get shredded by Patrick Mahomes?

San Francisco cornerback Richard Sherman saw it, preparing to face Mahomes on Sunday. Sherman concluded that the Steelers’ defensive schemes were too complex, which explained, at least in part, all of those busted coverages that helped the young quarterback throw for six TDs.

"He made great plays and great throws," Sherman said of Mahomes during a midweek news conference, "but there were a lot of guys running scot-free, buck-naked, wide open. You’ve got to play more sound than that."

It has to burn Tomlin to see such ineffectiveness from his secondary, as he’s witnessed, too, when Tom Brady is on the other side. He grew up in the NFL coaching ranks as a defensive backs coach and is typically seen during training camp practices giving hands-on pointers to DBs. I asked him once, during a previous season, if he took the struggles of his secondary personally.

He agreed, then added that he takes everything about his team personally.

That probably sums up his mind-set about now, with the Steelers struggling ... while there’s still time to turn the season around.

We’ll see. Next up, Ryan Fitzpatrick — the hottest quarterback in the NFL on this side of Mahomes. Fitz-magic, as they say, has a chance on Monday night to become the first quarterback to pass for 400 yards and four TDs in three consecutive games. With revived deep-ball artist DeSean Jackson in tow, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers must be licking their chops with the thought of the Steelers D coming to town.

Tomlin’s undoubtedly eager, too, knowing that winning is the ultimate trump card to beat adversity.

Other items of interest as Week 3 rolls on ...

Who’s hot: Patrick Mahomes. What a way to celebrate his 23rd birthday this week. The Chiefs' new quarterback heads into the home opener against the 49ers with a chance to throw for more touchdown passes in the first three games of a season than anyone in NFL history. He’s already set the two-game mark with 10 TDs (and zero picks), and three more on Sunday would surpass the totals of the top two on the three-game list — Peyton Manning (12) and Tom Brady (11). Now that’s context, and even more impressive when considering Mahomes’ lack of experience. It figures that QB guru Andy Reid has something to do with this.

Pressure’s on: Matt Patricia. With Bill Belichick bringing the Patriots to Detroit, it’s another reminder that the new Lions coach is, well, not his mentor. Patricia couldn’t have gotten off to a worse start in getting blown out at home by the Jets and rookie quarterback Sam Darnold in the opener. That only amplified pessimism that hovers above one of the NFL’s most depressed franchises and makes you wonder whether Patricia — brought in by GM Bob Quinn, also trained in New England — will wind up as another former Belichick assistant who bombs as a head coach. In any event, it’s not looking like one of the NFL’s best ideas to showcase the Lions (0-2) in two nationally televised prime-time games over the first three weeks of the season.

Key matchup: Michael Thomas vs. Desmond Trufant. After setting an NFL record for most catches by a player in his first two seasons (196), the star Saints wideout has started Year 3 with another NFL mark — most catches (28) in the first two weeks of a season. Trufant is best-equipped to take on the task of trying to neutralize the NFL’s leading receiver, when the feisty NFC South rivalry resumes at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. But you can bet that on top of blanket coverage, Trufant will be trying to punch the football out. For all of his receptions, Thomas lost fumbles in both games this season, matching his total from his first two campaigns.

Next man up: Giovani Bernard. With starting running back Joe Mixon rehabbing from arthroscopic surgery (torn meniscus, right knee), Bernard will elevate from his change-up role. Can he duplicate the efforts of Atlanta’s Tevin Coleman? Last weekend, Coleman (16 rushes, 107 yards) subbed for injured Devonta Freeman and snapped Carolina’s NFL-high streak of not allowing a 100-yard rusher at 21 games. Then again, the Panthers D will surely be a bit peeved after hearing all week about the end of the streak.

Rookie watch: Phillip Lindsay. It’s fitting that Lindsay asked to wear No. 30. That was the number Terrell Davis wore during his rags-to-riches experience with the Broncos. Now the Colorado product, third on the NFL rushing chart with 178 yards, heads to Baltimore as the first undrafted player in NFL history to debut with 100 yards from scrimmage in each of his first two games. So far, he’s come off the bench, splitting time with starter Royce Freeman. Yet that rotation might reverse itself, with Lindsay’s ability to break tackles and strike for big plays propelling his whopping 6.1-yard average per rush. Much could hinge Sunday on whether Ravens star middle linebacker C.J. Mosley returns to form after suffering a knee injury in Week 2.

If the playoffs were today ... The scrappy Jaguars would have one of the top seeds in the AFC. With a win on Sunday, they can claim the franchise’s first 3-0 start since 2004. After the statement against the Patriots, it’s time to prove another point as the Titans come to town. Tennessee swept Jacksonville last season. If the Jaguars are to truly establish themselves as the team to beat in the AFC South, handling Tennessee (which has an iffy quarterback situation, due to Marcus Mariota’s elbow injury) would be the next step.

Stomach for an upset: Raiders at Dolphins. Miami is one of seven 2-0 teams. Oakland is one of seven 0-2 teams. Several other factors, including the point spread (3), favor the Dolphins. Miami’s at home. Oakland’s body clocks (10 a.m. PT) must be adjusted. The Raiders, having traded Khalil Mack, don’t have a pass rush and are next-to-last in the league with two sacks. Yet one condition suggests that Jon Gruden is ripe to get his first win: Derek Carr. The Raiders QB is a cut above Miami’s first two victims, Blaine Gabbert and rookie Sam Darnold.

Did you notice? With defensive end Joey Bosa yet to play a snap this season because of a bruised bone in his left foot, the Chargers' sack leader is none other than rookie safety Derwin James, who has twice dropped quarterbacks on blitzes. That not only reflects James’ multidimensional talent but also the creativity needed to generate a rush without the stud pass-rusher. Melvin Ingram, the star bookend rusher, has 1½ sacks and undoubtedly more attention from blocking schemes. Bosa’s absence (ironically coinciding with the core muscle injury his brother Nick, the All-American defensive end at Ohio State, just had surgery for) represents a big advantage for the Rams in Sunday’s "Battle of L.A." at the Coliseum.

Fantasy vs. reality: You’d think that Marion Motley Crew, named to honor the Hall of Fame fullback, would better represent the running back position. Yet with a James White-LeGarrette Blount-Doug Martin committee (three players, one TD), an emerging trend from a 0-2 start in the 20-team super league: MMC’s opponents are getting more points from the backfield. Blame it on the GM who drafted Antonio Brown third overall, rather than, say, Ezekiel Elliott.

Stat’s the fact: The 174 touchdowns scored over the first two weekends of the season established a new NFL record, while the 1,506 points were second-most ever. Moral of the stats: It’s working. Rules changes — and the gross emphasis on roughing-the-passer penalties — that tilt the game in favor of the offense are having the desired effect.

Follow Jarrett Bell on Twitter @JarrettBell.