Houston’s dominant defense delivered a playoff-defining performance Monday night, carrying the Texans to a 23-6 wild-card victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers and sending Houston into the Divisional Round.
The Texans turned a tense, low-scoring game decisively in their favor early in the fourth quarter when defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins and Will Anderson Jr. combined for a sack of Aaron Rodgers. Rankins forced a fumble, scooped up the loose ball and raced to the end zone for a touchdown that gave Houston a 17-6 lead. Against a suffocating defense, the margin felt overwhelming. Houston added a second defensive touchdown later in the quarter on a Calen Bullock interception return, punctuating a night in which the Texans’ defense outscored Pittsburgh’s offense 14-6.
Pittsburgh struggled throughout against Houston’s relentless pressure. The Steelers converted just 2 of 14 third-down attempts, were forced to punt six times and saw their two best drives stall inside the Houston 10-yard line, resulting in a pair of Chris Boswell field goals. Rodgers was under pressure on nearly half of his dropbacks, was sacked four times, fumbled twice and threw a pick-six on his final pass of the night. He finished 5 of 13 for 47 yards when pressured as his promising late-season surge came to an abrupt end.
While Houston’s defense stole the spotlight, the Texans overcame a turbulent night from quarterback C.J. Stroud. The second-year passer was rattled for long stretches, accounting for five fumbles and committing multiple turnovers while trying to escape pressure. Still, Stroud delivered in key moments, including a 92-yard, 14-play drive capped by a short touchdown pass to Christian Kirk. Stroud’s teammates repeatedly picked him up, most notably rookie running back Woody Marks, who rushed for 112 yards and a game-sealing touchdown for his first career 100-yard performance.
Kirk was the standout on offense, torching Pittsburgh’s secondary for 144 yards and a touchdown on eight catches. According to Next Gen Stats, six of those receptions for 132 yards and the score came against Brandin Echols, marking the most receiving yards by a Texans player against a single defender in at least eight seasons and the most in a playoff game since 2018.
Pittsburgh hoped the return of DK Metcalf would spark its offense, but his impact was minimal. Metcalf caught an early screen for 17 yards and added a 25-yard gain on a crossing route in the first quarter, but he dropped a potential big play later in the period and was largely invisible the rest of the night. He finished his first season in Pittsburgh well short of expectations, capped by a quiet playoff performance.
The Texans did suffer injury concerns at receiver. Nico Collins exited with a concussion after landing hard on an incomplete pass and was carted to the locker room, while Justin Watson also left with a concussion. Their availability is in question for Houston’s upcoming Divisional Round matchup at New England, a potential challenge for an offense that relied heavily on its defense Monday night.
In the end, Houston advanced by winning as a team. Despite Stroud’s mistakes, the Texans leaned on an elite defense, timely playmaking and a resilient running game to earn a convincing playoff victory and keep their postseason run alive.
