The Houston Texans saw their quarterback struggle and their star receiver leave on a cart, but it didn’t matter on a night when Houston’s defense once again played at an elite level.
Behind a four-man pass rush that utterly dominated Aaron Rodgers and the Steelers, the Texans wrapped up wild-card weekend with a victory in Pittsburgh, 30-6. It’s the 10th consecutive victory for the Texans, who own the NFL’s longest active winning streak, and the first road playoff win in franchise history. Houston will travel to Foxboro to face the New England Patriots in the divisional round on Sunday.
For Pittsburgh, the loss makes it nine consecutive seasons without a postseason victory, and seven straight playoff losses for Mike Tomlin, who ties former Cincinnati Bengals coach Marvin Lewis for the longest postseason losing streak all-time among coaches.
The game was a low-scoring slog through three quarters, with the Steelers struggling to move the ball and the Texans failing to protect it. But holding a 10-6 lead in the fourth quarter, it was Houston’s defense that delivered the play to break the game open: Will Anderson Jr. stripped Rodgers from the blindside on a third-and-long, and Sheldon Rankins scooped it and returned it 33 yards for a touchdown.
It was one of four sacks for the Texans’ defense, who smothered Rodgers throughout the night. Rodgers finished 17-for-33 for 146 yards and an interception. The six points were the fewest a Rodgers-led team has ever scored in a postseason game. Backup Mason Rudolph took the game’s final snaps for the Steelers.
The game’s first touchdown came at the end of a long drive that covered the end of the first quarter and a good chunk of the second. Behind a strong run game and some timely throws from C.J. Stroud, Houston drove 92 yards in 14 plays, capped by a 6-yard touchdown pass from Stroud to Christian Kirk, who snuck across the formation on a play-action toss to the left, scoring easily inside the right pylon. With Nico Collins held in check — and leaving the game in the third quarter to be evaluated for a concussion — Kirk delivered the big plays. He had a 36-yard catch on Houston’s first third down of the game, and added a 46-yard reception on a third-and-15 to end the third quarter, the key play on a drive that ended with Ka’imi Fairbairn’s 51-yard field goal. Kirk finished the game with 144 yards on eight catches.
Rookie running back Woody Marks, who finished with 112 rushing yards, added a late touchdown run, with Calen Bullock’s 50-yard pick six of Rodgers capping the scoring.
Stroud, though, did not play well. The quarterback, who did not lose a single fumble during the regular season, lost two in the first half alone. The first came on a flea-flicker, when Steelers edge rusher Jack Sawyer dislodged the ball from his grip before Stroud could unload to a wide-open receiver behind Pittsburgh’s secondary. The second, in Texans territory, set the Steelers up for a field goal. Stroud also overshot a wide-open Collins late in the first half — a completion would have set up Houston for points before halftime. Instead, they went into the locker room with a 7-6 lead. Stroud finished 21-of-32 for 250 yards.
At the end of a long opening drive to start the second half, Stroud, facing a third-and-4 at Pittsburgh’s 14-yard line, bought time but ultimately threw late and behind Xavier Hutchinson, allowing Steelers CB Brandin Echols to make a diving interception.
The turnovers kept the Steelers in the game, but Pittsburgh’s offense couldn’t get anything going. The Steelers didn’t convert their first third down of the night until there was a little more than seven minutes to go in the third quarter. DK Metcalf had two receptions for 42 yards and drew a 14-yard pass interference penalty in the game’s first seven minutes, but didn’t have a catch after that.
The Steelers now step into an uncertain offseason. Rodgers is scheduled to become a free agent in March, and the 42-year-old has not committed to playing anywhere in 2026. Meanwhile, Tomlin is signed through 2026, but ownership must make a decision by March 1 on a 2027 option in his contract.