The Pittsburgh Steelers seemed destined for season ending locker cleaning out last Monday morning. In a Sunday Night football instant classic, Baltimore Ravens TE Isaiah Likely caught a fourth and seven dime from QB Lamar Jackson to set up a makeable 44-yard field goal attempt that would end Pittsburgh's season.
Then, the Steelers received new life.
Ravens rookie kicker Tyler Loop pushed said field goal attempt wide right and in a blink, the Steelers sewed up the AFC North in stunning fashion. Just as Texans players, coaches and fans watching at home had mentally prepared for a second trip this season to Baltimore prior to the attempt, Loop's miss provided an opportunity for the Texans to travel to Pittsburgh for the first time in regular season/playoffs since the COVID season of 2020. The Texans haven't won in that building since their inaugural season 2002 when they waltzed into Heinz Field, rolled up a whopping (not really) 47 yards of offense and walked out with a 24-6 Texans win. Shoot, I'd take that again on Monday Night; just win, Texans.
But, the challenge is immense for the Texans on Monday night. The Steelers haven't lost a home Monday Night game since 1991 and the Texans have never won a road playoff game in six tries. Yikes.
Then again, historical results have no bearing on the present football game that'll kick off at 7:15 PM CST on Monday night. The Steelers will be riding the momentum of that win over Baltimore while the Texans look to make a statement against a future Hall of Fame QB and his new team. The Texans haven't had a lick of success against QB Aaron Rodgers since DeMeco Ryans was the team's starting LB in 2008. That has to change on Monday night.
As such, let's get to know more about the Texans' Wildcard weekend opponent - the Pittsburgh Steelers.
2025 Pittsburgh Steelers (10-7)
- Week 1 - W @ New York Jets 34-32
- Week 2 - L Seattle Seahawks 31-17
- Week 3 - W @ New England Patriots 21-14
- Week 4 - W Minnesota Vikings 24-21 (Dublin, Ireland)
- Week 5 - BYE WEEK
- Week 6 - W Cleveland Browns 23-9
- Week 7 - L @ Cincinnati Bengals 33-31
- Week 8 - L Green Bay Packers 35-25
- Week 9 - W Indianapolis Colts 27-20
- Week 10 - L @ Los Angeles Chargers 25-10
- Week 11 - W Cincinnati Bengals 34-12
- Week 12 - L @ Chicago Bears 31-28
- Week 13 - L Buffalo Bills 26-7
- Week 14 - W @ Baltimore Ravens 27-22
- Week 15 - W Miami Dolphins 28-15
- Week 16 - W @ Detroit Lions 29-24
- Week 17 - L @ Cleveland Browns 13-6
- Week 18 - W Baltimore Ravens 26-24
Steelers Offense (2025 Regular Season)
- Rushing Yards Per game - 103.3 ypg (26th in the NFL)
- Passing Yards Per game - 202.4 ypg (22nd)
- Total offense per game - 306.6 ypg (25th)
- Turnovers lost - 15 (6 Fumbles lost, 9 INT)
Expected Steelers starting offense for Wild Card Round
- QB - AARON RODGERS
- RB - Jaylen Warren or KENNETH GAINWELL
- TE - Pat Freiermuth
- WR - DK METCALF
- WR - Calvin Austin III
- WR - MARQUEZ VALDES-SCANTLING or ADAM THIELEN
- LT - Dylan Cook
- LG - ISAAC SEUMALO
- C - Zach Frazier
- RG - Mason McCormick
- RT - Troy Fautanu
Key Offensive Non-Starters
- TE - JONNU SMITH
- TE/H-Back - Connor Heyward
- WR/ST - Ben Skowronek
- WR - SCOTTY MILLER
- OL - Spencer Anderson
Italics - Rookie
ALL CAPS - New to team in 2025
Keys to winning v. the Steelers Offense
- The Old Nemesis, literally and figuratively - Since 2012, the Texans have faced Aaron Rodgers four times and it's been ugly each time. On a Sunday Night at NRG Stadium in 2012, Rodgers threw for 338 yards and SIX TDs in a blow out win over the Texans in front of a nationwide audience. In 2016, when the Texans went to Green Bay on a snowy day, a hamstrung (literally) Rodgers made three plays that no other QB on this planet can make to beat the Texans. In 2020, he literally toyed with the Texans defense in a game that wasn't even close, if I'm being honest. Then, last year, on Halloween, he had his best game of the 2024 season, throwing three touchdowns in an upset win over the playoff-bound Texans. He's been a major thorn in the side of the Texans and there's nothing he wants more than to continue that streak against this much ballyhooed Texans defense. He doesn't move around a ton any more, but he can dissect the defense in a quick minute. Consequently, he isn't afraid to throw to his backs Kenneth Gainwell and Jaylen Warren over and over. Speaking of the running backs…
- An Underrated dynamic duo - Each week during our interview with DeMeco Ryans, I make an effort to ask Coach his thoughts on the Texans' tackling efforts in the previous games. This is going to be one of those games in which the tackling has to be superb. I don't want to ask Coach that question at halftime and then hear "it's got to improve". That will be major trouble. If the Texans aren't tackling Gainwell and Warren effectively, that duo will turn two yard gains into twenty yard chunk plays repeatedly. Rodgers loves to use Gainwell as a checkdown option in the passing game and his slipperiness and change of direction are a big problem. Warren? He's blunt force trauma every time he carries the rock. He DEMANDS multiple defenders to bring him down. I think he's one of the most underrated PLAYERS in the league, much less running backs. It's a perfectly complementary duo in the backfield and they have to be tackled quickly, decisively and effectively for Coach (and all of us) to be happy.
- DK is back! - Back in 2018, the Ole Miss Rebels came into NRG Stadium to play the Texas Tech Red Raiders. On the second play of the game, Rebels star WR D.K. Metcalf caught a pass from QB Jordan Ta'amu and sprinted past everyone to the end zone. I remember thinking that was one of the fastest big people I've ever seen run with the football. That's what still sticks in my head as the Texans prepare for Metcalf, now a Steeler, and his return to this underrated offense after a two game suspension. The Steelers offense missed Metcalf's explosive abilities and Rodgers certainly felt the loss of his go-to weapon in the passing game. I worry so much about 6-4, 230 lb. with 4.3 speed with the ball in his hands over and over. As such, the Texans have to limit his opps and force other receiving options to try to beat them.
Steelers DEFENSE (in 2025 regular season)
- Rushing Yards Allowed Per game - 113.1 ypg (13th in the NFL)
- Passing Yards Allowed Per game - 243.9 ypg (29th)
- Total offense Allowed per game - 356.9 ypg (26th)
- Turnovers generated - 27 (15 INT, 12 Fumble recoveries - Steelers are +12 in TO margin in 2025)
Expected Steelers starting defense for Wild Card
- OLB - Alex Highsmith
- DE - Cam Heyward
- NT - Keanu Benton
- DE - DERRICK HARMON
- OLB - TJ Watt
- LB - Patrick Queen
- LB - Payton Wilson
- CB - Joey Porter Jr.
- S - JALEN RAMSEY
- S - KYLE DUGGER
- CB - James Pierre
- Nickel - BRANDIN ECHOLS
Key Defensive Non-Starters
- OLB - Nick Herbig
- DE - YAHYA BLACK
- DT - Logan Lee
- OLB - Jack Sawyer
- LB - MALIK MORRISON
- Nickel - ASANTE SAMUEL JR.
- S - JABRILL PEPPERS
ALL CAPS - New to team in 2025
Italics - Rookie
Keys to winning v. the Steelers Defense
- CAM! Oh, CAM! - So, imagine J.J Watt still playing for the Houston Texans. I know, right? That would be freakin' awesome, no question. Now, J.J. does a great job calling games for CBS Sports and had a Hall of Fame career so no complaints at all. However, 20 picks after J.J. was selected in the 2011 NFL Draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers selected the son of an NFL legend. All Cameron Heyward, son of legendary RB Craig "Ironhead" Heyward, has done since being drafted is attend seven Pro Bowls, earn All-Pro honors four times and, like J.J, be named Walter Payton Man of the Year. Oh, and he's arguably the best defensive interior player in the NFL…still at 36 years old. It's amazing to think how fantastic (and durable) Heyward has been for the Steelers. He's a handful on the interior and the Texans entire OL will have to tangle with him at some point. The Steelers will find ways to get Heyward one-on-one on a Texans OL in both run and pass situations, but even against double teams in the run game, Heyward dominates. 14 years after being drafted, Heyward has reached his peak and that's not good news for anyone in red, white and blue on Monday night.
- Watt's up? - Six years after Heyward and J.J. were drafted, the Steelers struck again late in the first round. The youngest Watt brother sat at home waiting to hear his name called and at pick 30, the Steelers called the Watt Batphone to let Wisconsin edge rusher T.J. Watt know that he was their guy. And, he hasn't looked back throughout a Hall of Fame career. Now, he's just coming back to full form after a scary incident at the team facility a few weeks ago. He played against the Ravens and it was clear he had a little rust to shake off throughout that game. Yet, he still changed the game with a tipped pass interception that led to points for the Steelers offense. He will certainly enter this contest looking to make a point; the last time the Texans faced Watt in 2023 at NRG Stadium, J.J's brother had zero sacks and just one QB hit on C.J. Stroud. It's two plus years later, but if the Texans are going to have offensive success, they have to keep Watt away from Stroud again. The Texans have played four different starting tackles in the last month and not given up a sack in three games. Every single one of them will tangle with Watt on the edge and they have to limit the great Steeler's production in all facets.
- Just get it off - Now, if, IF the Texans can slow Watt…and Alex Highsmith…and the criminally underrated Nick Herbig, the Texans can get what they want in the passing game. Against the Ravens, Baltimore QB Lamar Jackson found WIDE open receivers for chunk plays repeatedly. More importantly, the Steelers cover guys looked discombobulated in coverage against a scheme that the Steelers have seen often. The Steelers secondary has struggled this year against full and complete groups of pass catchers. One thing that I realized in practice on Thursday was the difference in the Texans' WR corps this year vs. the past two playoff runs. In both of those years, the Texans receiver room was stretched thin due to injuries, but heading into this matchup, the WRs are healthy and ready to make a statement. The Texans have to exploit the Steelers' secondary throughout and they can if, IF Stroud gets time in the pocket consistently.
