No two teams had to wait longer for their postseason to begin than the Houston Texans and Pittsburgh Steelers, waiting and watching five other games before getting their chance to show America what they’re about. Monday night arrived, and ultimately it was the Texans who showed out, doing what they’ve done all year, smothering their opponent defensively, particularly in the fourth quarter,  and coming away with a bruising 30-6 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers. 

The Texans earned their first road playoff win in franchise history. DeMeco Ryans became the fifth head coach in NFL history to win a playoff game in each of his first three seasons as a head coach. Ryans and C.J. Stroud are just the second head coach and quarterback combination to win a playoff game in their first three seasons together as a first time head coach and rookie quarterback. 

In short, this wasn’t just your normal playoff win. The Texans were a three point favorite on the road, and proved that they deserved that shine. Now, it’s onto New England to vanquish some more demons, this Sunday at 2 p.m. Here are your winners and losers from Monday night’s win: 

WINNERS

4. Defensive touchdowns 

Throughout most of the night, the Texans were able to move the ball, but C.J. Stroud kept taking dead aim at his big toe, with horrific turnovers. In a game where they should have been leading by 17 to 20 points, they were leading 10-6 early in the fourth quarter. Thankfully, the Texans’ defense said “Screw this, we’ll go score!” Sheldon Rankins scooped up an Aaron Rodgers fumble and rumbled into the end zone to make it 17-6, and Calen Bullock closed out the scoring with a pick six to provide the final margin at 30-6. It was the fourth pick six for the Texans in three wild card round games under DeMeco Ryans.

3. Nick Caley

This was Nick Caley’s finest hour as Texans’ offensive coordinator. Period. On the drive that got the Texans their first touchdown of the game — 14 plays, 92 yards — Caley smelled blood in the water, and began pounding the Steelers’ defense with their run game (more on that in a moment). In the second half, when the Texans needed a clock killing drive to put the Steelers away, Caley orchestrated an 11 play, 87 yard drive that ended in a Woody Marks touchdown. For anyone wishing the playoffs would somehow put Caley on the chopping block, the opposite happened on Monday night.

2. Woody Marks, Nick Chubb, and the offensive line  

Caley was pushing the buttons, but it was the offensive line clearing the holes, and it was Woody Marks and Nick Chubb bringing the hammer. The two combined for 29 carries and gained 160 yards. Marks ran with ferocity, and Chubbb bludgeoned the Steelers like a rival that he’d played twice a year for his whole career to this point (which he had while he was a Cleveland Brown). This defensive line they did this against is no joke. They have two Hall of Famers, and the Texans dominated. 

1. Christian Kirk 

The Texans brought Kirk in from Jacksonville on a trade for a seventh round pick, with the caveat that they had to inherit the remaining $16 million year on his contract. Up until Monday night, the decision had not really panned out, as Kirk had just 28 catches in 13 games, for a meager 239 yards. On Monday night, Kirk was a game saver for the Texans, with a team playoff record 144 yards on eight catches, including a massive 46 yard catch on 3rd and 15 from the Texans’ 18 yard line late in the third quarter. Kirk was worth every penny of that salary on Monday night.

LOSERS

4. Steelers reputed toughness

I was told by Steeler fans that there were two things the Texans would not be able to stand up to — the weather and the blue collar Steeler toughness. Steeler fans were wrong on both fronts. The weather appeared to cause no issues, unless you believe the cold climate caused Stroud’s five fumbles. As for the blue collar toughness of the Steelers, the Texans offensive line spent most of the night shoving the Steelers defensive front around like they were junior high kids. The Texans averaged 5.3 yards per carry and ran at will on their two long touchdown drives. 

3. Nico Collins’ brain 

Okay, now we get into some things that could be a problem for the Texans as they head to New England. First, Nico Collins is concussed now for the second time this season. This one looked bad, as he was dumped on his head while getting tangled up with Steelers CB Joey Porter. Collins was carted off, and had a towel over his head and face. If Collins can’t go on Sunday, then the Texans will need to lean into the fact that C.J. Stroud had his best game as a pro in Week 8’s win over the Niners, with no Nico Collins. However, counting on Stroud right now may be a bit dicey…..

2. C.J. Stroud

…..as he almost single-handedly lost the game for the Texans last night, with his three turnovers. Stroud lost two fumbles on some amateur hour decision making in the pocket, and threw an equally amateurish interception in the red zone on the team’s first possession of the second half. In all, Stroud fumbled five times (losing the two aforementioned turnovers). I’d like to think this was just a bad night at the office, but it was incredibly jarring.

1. Aaron Rodgers

If you’re an Aaron Rodgers hater, a hobby I’ve dabbled in front time to time, last night was Christmas for you. There were plenty of people thinking Rodgers could dial it back up for one more big playoff run, but those people obviously had not watched the Houston Texans’ defense. Now, the talk is that Aaron Rodgers will call it a career, which means the final pass of his career was the pick six to Calen Bullock. 

This article appears in Private: Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2026.

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