The Houston Texans won the NFL’s last wild card game at the Pittsburgh Steelers 30-6 and made club history. The game ended bitterly for Aaron Rodgers.
Texans @ Steelers: At a glance
- The Texans won an away game in the playoffs for the first time in their franchise history and will now face the New England Patriots.
- The Texans offense struggled due to a poor performance from quarterback CJ Stroud, but the defense was outstanding and scored two touchdowns of their own.
- It may have been Aaron Rodgers’ last NFL game, so his last pass may have been a pick-six.
Texans @ Steelers: The Analysis
The game started unpromisingly with punts on both sides. Afterwards, the Steelers looked competent for a moment with the ball in their hands. Aaron Rodgers found returner DK Metcalf for a 25-yard pass. Metcalf then gained another 14 yards with a pass interference against Kamari Lassiter, but in the end there was only a 32-yard field goal to give the home team a 3-0 lead.
As a result, the Steelers managed a turnover after a chaotic sequence: The Texans tried a Flea-Flicker in the opponent’s half after a promising drive, but CJ Stroud then hesitated for too long and rookie Jack Sawyer managed the strip sack, which Yahya Black captured. The Steelers did nothing with this gift; rather, Metcalf dropped a long pass and the Steelers had to punt.
The Texans then marched toward the red zone and got the run game going with Woody Marks making several chunk plays. Stroud then found Christian Kirk on a play fake for a 6-yard touchdown to give the Texans their first lead early in the second quarter. The Texans quickly got the ball back after another defensive stop including an intentional grounding from Rodgers, but Stroud lost another fumble shortly afterwards. First he dropped the snap, and a little later he lost the leather again.
Pittsburgh had the ball in the red zone, but then only gained four yards in seven plays (thanks to a penalty) and settled for a 35-yard field goal from Chris Boswell.
The first half didn’t see any more points, however, as Stroud threw over a wide-open Nico Collins after a scramble after the Texans had already wasted their timeouts and a lot of time. Halftime score: 7:6 Houston.
Video: Captain Kirk gives the Texans the lead
Texans defense dominates the second half
After the break, the defense ruled for a long time and didn’t allow much. Stroud threw a bad interception in the red zone after a scramble to Brandin Echols, but the Steelers didn’t do anything with it. However, the decision ultimately concerned the Houston defense.
Danielle Hunter managed a strip sack on Rodgers, preventing a supposedly long touchdown pass to Metcalf, who appeared to have gotten behind the defense on a go route. The Steelers kept the ball but had to punt. In return, Stroud made a rare positive play by finding Kirk for 46 yards. That was basically enough to put kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn in position for a 46-yard field goal to make it 10-6. A little later, the Texans actually put the lid on it: Will Anderson managed a strip sack against Rodgers, and Sheldon Rankins carried the fumble 33 yards into the end zone – 17:6 Texans with just over eleven minutes to play.
Woody Marks then scored a touchdown and, to top it all off, Rodgers threw a pick-six to Calen Bullock. It was Rodgers’ last pass; Mason Rudolph was then allowed to play when the game was decided.
While the Steelers have been waiting for success in the playoffs since the 2016 season, the Texans will meet the New England Patriots in the divisional game next weekend. Notable: This was the first away playoff win in Houston Texans history. Previously they were 0-6 on the opposing pitch.
Houston Texans (12-5, #5) @ Pittsburgh Steelers (10-7, #4)
Result: 30:6 (0:3, 7:3, 0:0, 23:0) BOXSCORE
Texans @ Steelers: Key stats
- Rodgers is only the fourth quarterback after Brett Favre, Drew Brees and Tom Brady to start a playoff game over the age of 40.
- Stroud didn’t lose a single fumble in the entire regular season. In this game there were already two before the break. What’s more, Stroud is the first player with two lost fumbles in the first half of a playoff game since Carson Palmer in the 2025 NFC Championship Game for the Cardinals against the Panthers.
- For Steelers coach Mike Tomlin, this was the fifth loss in a row in the playoffs. It was also his seventh defeat in the playoffs overall, the same number as former Bengals coach Marvin Lewis.
The star of the game: Danielle Hunter & Will Anderson Jr. (Edge Rusher, Texans)
The Texans’ edge duo dominated this game from the start and made life difficult for Aaron Rodgers. Both had eight pressures and 1.5 sacks, as well as two forced fumbles. They had five QB hits and were also reliable against the run. Nothing more was necessary against this opponent.
The flop of the game: Aaron Rodgers (QUarterback, Steelers)
The O-line wasn’t good, but the bottom line was that Rodgers made too many inaccuracies and sometimes just bad throws. He did put a few needle pricks at the beginning, but in the end this wasn’t enough for the former superstar in what was possibly his last game.
Analysis: Texans @ Steelers – this stood out tactically
- Knowing full well how dangerous the Texans’ pass rush is, Rodgers was once again careful to get rid of the ball quickly with short passes. However, he still held the ball two tenths of a second longer than usual (2.7 instead of 2.5 seconds on average).
- It was apparent early on that the Texans largely avoided blitzes and relied more on their four down linemen to put pressure on Rodgers. The Steelers, in turn, sent extra rushers on about a quarter of Stroud’s dropbacks.