Houston’s S.W.A.R.M. defense suffocates Steelers. The Texans’ calling card has long been their league-best defense and the unit did not disappoint Monday night, keeping Houston in a tight, low-scoring contest by repeatedly shutting down Aaron Rodgers and the Steelers and eventually breaking the door down by getting involved in the scoring themselves. Defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins took a tense game and turned it permanently in favor of the visiting Texans when he split a sack with Will Anderson Jr., forced a fumble, snatched the live ball from the pile of bodies and sprinted to the end zone, giving the Texans a 17-6 lead early in the fourth quarter. The 11-point advantage instantly felt insurmountable for the Steelers because of the elite resistance they faced. Houston held Pittsburgh to 2 of 14 on third down on the night, forced six punts, shut down Pittsburgh’s two most promising drives short of the Houston 10-yard line (resulting in two Chris Boswell field goals) and slammed the door definitively by scoring two defensive touchdowns in the final period, punctuating a run to the playoffs that has been powered by DeMeco Ryans’ elite unit.Rodgers’ storybook run fizzles out. The 42-year-old Aaron Rodgers entered Wild Card Weekend on a bit of a roll of late, helping the Steelers win four of their final games to secure the AFC North title and a home playoff game. Yes, their offense had issues, but Steelers fans had reason to feel optimistic entering the first round of the postseason. Unlike previous playoff runs, Pittsburgh had a veteran quarterback capable of throwing it to victory. But clues of an eventual demise first surfaced two weeks earlier when the Steelers managed just six points in an upset loss to a team with another strong defense in Cleveland. This time around, they were facing a defensive beast that was vastly upgraded by comparison and the results proved it. Rodgers leaned into the quick-fire approach that propelled the Steelers to the playoffs early in the contest, leading a promising first-quarter drive that covered 58 yards before stalling in Houston’s red zone. It would end up being their most productive possession of the night. Rodgers found himself under frequent duress from there, facing pressure on 45.9% of his total dropbacks. He was sacked four times, fumbled twice, lost one of them, completed just 5 of 13 attempts under pressure for 47 yards and didn’t end up standing a chance against Houston’s defense, throwing a pick-six on his final attempt of the night. Instead of using his arm and two decades’ worth of experience to guide the Steelers to their first postseason victory since 2016, Rodgers became the latest Pittsburgh quarterback to spend his final moments in a somber, expressionless state on the bench. We’ll see if it was his last time on an NFL field.Houston overcomes Stroud’s tumultuous night. For a significant stretch of Monday night’s contest, it appeared as if the Texans might win in spite of their quarterback. C.J. Stroud largely looked nothing like the signal-caller with four games of playoff experience under his belt entering this game, allowing Pittsburgh’s pass rush to rattle him while appearing skittish in the pocket when his first option wasn’t available. This wasn’t true of every single snap. Stroud still made a handful of incredibly accurate throws fitting of his skillset, including an early strike to Christian Kirk (on a drive that eventually stalled because of penalties) and a collection of decisive bullets to keep drives moving. Stroud was the engineer behind the methodical march that saw Houston cover 92 yards over 14 plays and finish with a short touchdown toss to Kirk. But the moments in between were enough to cause hair loss in Houston. Stroud accounted for five fumbles, twice tried to make miraculous plays out of disastrous situations (both ended in fumbles lost to the defense) and, in a moment of panic, tried to fling a desperate pass out of a tight pocket that resulted in a red zone interception. The Texans can reflect on this game and be especially thankful for the contributions of two key figures and a group of essential contributors. Rookie running back Woody Marks ran hard even after getting dinged up early in the contest, finishing with 112 rushing yards (his first career 100-yard game) and a game-sealing touchdown. Kirk torched Pittsburgh’s secondary for 144 yards and the aforementioned score on eight catches, and Houston’s defense outscored Pittsburgh’s offense 14-6 thanks to Rankins’ fumble return TD and safety Calen Bullock’s pick-six of Rodgers. In the playoffs, the best usually win as a team. Stroud can thank his teammates for picking him up Monday night.Metcalf’s return proves irrelevant. The Steelers’ offense trudged through the final two games of their regular season slate with a lower-potential offense that clearly missed DK Metcalf, who was away due to a suspension for his involvement in an altercation with a fan in Detroit. His return was seen as a significant storyline in this matchup because he represented the most valuable reinforcement Pittsburgh could welcome to their offense. In the end, that couldn’t have been further from the truth. After catching an early screen from Rodgers and taking it for a 17-yard gain and adding another 25-yard gain on a crossing route in the first quarter, Metcalf disappeared for the rest of the game. He ran a post-corner that got him open down the sideline late in the first quarter and dropped a perfectly placed pass from Rodgers, then didn’t see another target until the game was largely out of reach. For such a lauded offseason acquisition, Metcalf’s first season in Pittsburgh fell well short of expectations: 850 receiving yards, six touchdowns (in 15 games) and an almost entirely forgettable showing in a playoff game.Texans hoping for the best for receivers. Stroud’s favorite target is notably absent from this game’s recap and for good reason. Nico Collins caught three passes for 21 yards but suffered a concussion on a pass that leaked through his hands for an incompletion as he crashed to the Acrisure Stadium turf. Collins needed to be redirected from the field as he exited, was carted to the locker room and later confirmed to have suffered the concussion, placing him into protocol that might be difficult to clear in time for a Sunday date at New England. It would be a massive absence for a passing game that already struggles to produce consistently. Making matters worse, fellow receiver Justin Watson was also forced out due to a concussion, meaning the Texans could be down two pass catchers entering the Divisional Round against a Patriots defense that just shut down Justin Herbert and the Chargers on Sunday night. Fortunately, those were the only two injuries of significance for Houston, but for a Texans offense that scored as many touchdowns (two) as their defense, it’s not exactly the most encouraging news.
Next Gen Stats insight from Texans-Steelers (via NFL Pro): Christian Kirk caught eight passes for 144 yards and a touchdown in the Texans’ Wild Card win, recording six of those receptions for 132 yards and his lone score when covered by Brandin Echols. Kirk totaled the most receiving yards against a single defender in a playoff game since at least 2018. He also recorded the most yards by any Texans receiver against an individual defender in any game in at least eight seasons, with Echols allowing the most yards to a specific receiver of any Steelers defender in that same span.
NFL Research: C.J. Stroud became just the second player since fumbles were first recorded in 1991 to have five or more fumbles in a game and win, including playoffs, joining Eli Manning (Week 16, 2007).