Houston (12-5) Pittsburgh (10-7)
Monday at 8:15 p.m. ET on ESPN/ABC.
BetMGM NFL odds: Texans 3 1/2.
Opposite score difference: Texans 9-8; Steelers 8-8-1.
Series record: Steelers lead 8-5.
Last meeting: October 1, 2023, the Texans defeated the Steelers 30-6 in Houston.
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Last week: Texans beat Colts 38-30; Steelers beat Ravens 26-24.
Texans offense: Overall (18), rushing (14), passing (22), scoring (13).
Texans defense: Overall (1), rushing (6), passing (4), scoring (2).
Steelers offense: Overall (25), rushing (26), passing (22), scoring (15).
Steelers defense: Overall (26), rushing (13), passing (29), scoring (17).
Turnover difference: Texans +17; Steelers plus-12.
Texas Players to Watch
QB C.J. Stroud will start his fifth career playoff game on Monday, and a win would make him the fourth quarterback in NFL history to win a playoff game in his first three seasons, joining Joe Flacco, Hall of Famers Otto Graham and Russell Wilson. The 24-year-old has thrown for at least 200 yards in six straight road games and has thrown for more than 245 yards in three of four playoff games. After missing three games with a concussion, he threw for eight touchdowns and only three interceptions in his six games since returning.
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Steelers players to watch
WR DK Metcalf. The two-time Pro Bowler returned this week after serving a two-game suspension for physical contact with a fan in Detroit in late December. Pittsburgh’s offense struggled without him in Cleveland on Dec. 28, but rebounded against Baltimore as Aaron Rodgers threw for a season-high 294 yards. Metcalf was warming up at the time of the suspension. His emergence gives the Steelers a legitimate deep threat option as long as the offensive line gives Rodgers enough time to throw the ball while facing one of the NFL’s best pass rushes.
key matchup
Steelers offensive tackles Dylan Cook and Troy Fatanu against Texans edge rushers Danielle Hunter and Will Anderson. Cook started the season on the practice squad and performed well after taking over for injured starter Broderick Jones, while Fortanu had a strong season after an injured rookie season in 2024. Anderson and Hunter combined for 27 sacks, and Houston’s best chance at winning its first road playoff game in franchise history will start with Anderson and Hunter making things difficult for Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who will enter his 22nd postseason game to start his 21-year career.
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key injuries
Texans: DE Denico Autry (knee), OL Tytus Howard (ankle), RB Jawhar Jordan (ankle), CB Kamari Lassiter (ankle) did not practice Thursday. T Trent Brown (ankle/knee), LB Jamal Hill (calf), DT Sheldon Rankins (elbow), S Jaylen Reed (forearm) and CB Derek Stingley Jr. (slash) were limited Thursday.
Steelers: Pittsburgh was surprisingly healthy heading into its first home playoff game in five years, although RB Jaylen Warren missed midweek practice with an illness.
Series Notes
This is the first playoff meeting between Pittsburgh and Houston. The Steelers have won three of the last four games between the two clubs, although the Texans defeated Pittsburgh 30-6 in Houston two years ago, which proved to be an early sign of the building that the Texans were making under then-first-year coach DeMeco Ryans. …The Steelers lead 3-1 in the game at Acrisure Stadium. Houston’s only win in Pittsburgh came in its first road game on Dec. 8, 2002, when the Texans used three defensive scores to go on to a stunning 24-6 victory with Houston quarterback C.J. Stroud just 14 months old.
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Statistics and stuff
The Texans enter the playoffs as a wild-card team for the first time and look to win their first playoff road game after losing their first six games on the road. … This is their third straight playoff appearance. … Houston tied a franchise record with nine straight wins. It’s the franchise’s longest winning streak heading into the postseason since San Francisco’s 10-game streak in the 2022 postseason. … The Texans are just the fifth team since 1990 to start 0-3 and make the playoffs, and the first to do it twice after the 2018 team also pulled off such a turnaround. … Houston’s 12 wins tied the 2012 team for the most regular-season wins in franchise history. … Houston’s defense leads the NFL in total yards allowed (277.2) and ranks second with 17.4 points per game. … RB Woody Marks has rushed for 703 yards this season, sixth-most among rookies. He had at least 75 yards of offense in two consecutive road games. WR Nico Collins leads the Texans with 1,117 yards receiving, marking his third consecutive 1,000-yard season. Collins had at least five catches in each of his four postseason games. WR Jayden Higgins caught 6 touchdowns, the second most by a rookie in team history and tied for second among NFL rookies this season. … TE Dalton Schultz ranks third among tight ends with 82 receptions and his 777 yards rank sixth. … DE Danielle Hunter ranks third in the NFL with 15 sacks, marking his seventh season with at least 10 sacks. He was sacked in four straight games. … Small forward Will Anderson Jr. ranks fourth in the NFL with a career-high 20 tackles and has a career-high 12 sacks. … LB Azeez Al-Shaair leads the team with 103 tackles, marking his third straight season with at least 100 tackles. … LB Henry To’oTo’o has nine tackles for loss and four passes defended this season, a career high. … CB Kamari Lassiter ranked fifth in the NFL with a career-high 17 passes defended. …CB Derek Stingley had 15 passes defended and tied for the team lead with four interceptions, including his first interception returned for a touchdown. … K Ka’imi Fairbairn was named the AFC Special Teams Player of the Week after tying a franchise record with six field goals in a Week 18 win over the Colts. His 43-yard field goal with 12 seconds left gave him 44 field goals this season, tying David Akers (2011) for the most field goals in a single season in NFL history. … The Steelers are back in the playoffs for the third straight year and 13th in head coach Mike Tomlin’s 19-year tenure. …Pittsburgh finished the regular season with a 4-1 run under Tomlin to capture its eighth AFC North title. …The Steelers are coming off a six-game playoff losing streak against Houston, tied with Miami for the NFL’s longest active postseason losing streak. … Pittsburgh is 23-0 in its past 23 Monday night home games, a streak that dates back to 1991. The only Monday night loss in that period came in 2020, when the Steelers fell to Washington in a game that was postponed from Sunday to Monday due to scheduling chaos caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. …The Steelers are making the playoffs for the 36th time in franchise history, third in the NFL behind Dallas and Green Bay (both 38). …Pittsburgh is 21-11 all-time at home in the playoffs. … Rodgers is 11-10 in the postseason and has won at least one postseason game in five of the past six games. …Pittsburgh linebacker TJ Watt is looking for his first career playoff win. The perennial Pro Bowler returned from missing three games last week while recovering from surgery to repair a partially collapsed lung and picked up his ninth career interception. … The Steelers are one of two playoff teams without a 1,000-yard rusher or a 1,000-yard receiver. The Los Angeles Chargers are another. …Pittsburgh’s postseason win drought has been characterized by falling into the red early. The Steelers trailed 143-47 at halftime, ending a six-game playoff losing streak. … Pittsburgh RB Jaylen Warren posted career bests in rushing yards (958) and scrimmage yards (1,291).
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