By Ray Porter Jr. for Urban Media Today
PITTSBURGH, PA — When the Pittsburgh Steelers traveled to Houston to face the Texans during the 2023 regular season, expectations were high. Pittsburgh was favored to defeat an upstart Texans team led by first-year head coach DeMeco Ryans and rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud. Instead, the Steelers suffered an embarrassing 30–6 loss.
Fast forward to the NFL Playoffs, where the Steelers, AFC East champions, welcomed the Texans to Acrisure Stadium for a Monday Night Wild Card matchup, hoping to earn their first playoff victory since 2016. Unfortunately, history repeated itself. The Steelers once again fell to Houston by the same score — 30–6 — in front of a paid attendance of 67,297.
“Man, certainly a disappointing end to our season. We’ve certainly got to give Houston a lot of credit, in particular their defensive unit,” said Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin. “I thought they ruled the day. They certainly had a reputation for that coming in, and they confirmed it with their performance. That’s just how it goes.”
Despite the final score, the game was much closer than it appeared early on. The Steelers trailed just 7–6 heading into the fourth quarter before Houston erupted for 23 unanswered points. Texans’ kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn opened the scoring surge with a 51-yard field goal. Defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins then recovered a fumble by Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers and returned it 33 yards for a touchdown. Running back Woody Marks added a 13-yard rushing touchdown as part of his 112-yard performance, and safety Calen Bullock sealed the game with a 50-yard interception return for a touchdown.
The loss marked the Steelers’ first Monday Night Football defeat since the 1991 season.
Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud finished 21-of-32 for 250 yards, one touchdown, and one interception — doing just enough to guide Houston to victory. His second-quarter touchdown pass to wide receiver Christian Kirk gave the Texans a 7–3 lead, one they would never relinquish.
“It speaks for itself,” Tomlin said. “Particularly when you’re in this tournament, talk is cheap. It’s about what you do or don’t do, and certainly as a collective, we didn’t do it tonight.”
Perhaps the most frustrating aspect of the loss for Pittsburgh was the missed opportunity to capitalize on turnovers. The Steelers forced three Texans turnovers but managed only two Chris Boswell field goals in response. Their six-point output marked their lowest scoring performance since a 13–6 loss to the Cleveland Browns on December 28.
Rodgers, in what could be his final NFL game, struggled against Houston’s top-ranked defense, throwing for just 146 yards. The Texans defense lived up to its billing, sacking Rodgers four times and intercepting him once.
“We didn’t capitalize off of turnovers in the first half,” Tomlin said. “We were plus-two and still down by a point at halftime, and that’s just not a good sign. Our inability to perform on third down was significant, and that continued into the second half. You’ve got to give them credit, “we didn’t do enough in possession-down football to find rhythm or generate real points.”
As the Texans (13–5) move on to face the No. 2-seeded New England Patriots, the Steelers (10–8) enter an offseason filled with uncertainty. Questions loom surrounding the futures of Rodgers, offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, defensive coordinator Teryl Austin, and possibly Tomlin himself. The team will also face key free-agent decisions and prepare for the NFL Draft, which will be held in Pittsburgh this April.
“We didn’t get off enough on defense, and as the game wore on, it became an attrition component,” Tomlin said. “It’s disappointing, but I’m thankful for this group and their efforts. Still, it’s a disappointing night.”
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