Texans Initial Analysis and Concerns Facing the Pittsburgh Steelers

Playoffs. We’ve made it. Houston will face Pittsburgh in the first round and the writers of Battle Red Blog each provided their thoughts and considerations immediately after hearing the Steelers stole a last-second victory over the Baltimore Ravens.

Provide your initial thoughts on Houston’s matchup against the Steelers in the Wild Card. What are you concerned about and where do you think the Texans have an advantage?

VBallRetired:

I just don’t think the Steelers offense challenges our offense enough. My main concern is the Steelers’ front seven against this Texans offensive line. The Steelers defensive line may wreak some havoc and could cause a key turnover or two.

Secondly, the Texans set the record for field goals which is kind of a dubious honor. Pittsburgh is a tough place to kick as we saw on Sunday night. However, there is nothing to Steelers offense does that worries me, so the worries I’ve listed are relatively minor. If Houston can take care of the ball, they win. Another concern is the kicking conditions considering Houston lives on field goals.

Mike Bullock:

Saw a reminder earlier of how the last time Aaron Rodgers faced a Demeco Ryans defense in the playoffs and got demolished. And that was a 49ers D that wasn’t at the level of what H-Town has going right now.

My concern is still the same as it has been all season: offensive play calling. Unless Jerome Bettis reveals a free agent clone of his prime self who signs with the Texans, the A-gap running game will be just as ineffective as it has been all year.

One thing I’ve come to realize about this 2025 Texans team is they find a way to win. In years past, players have given up, the team has looked confused, unmotivated, ill-prepared. They continually lost games they could have won, and/or lost by less than a single score. But Ryans has these guys focused on finding ways to win. Mike Tomlin has instilled that in his teams since day one. Meaning, this should be a game with two playoff caliber teams convinced they can will themselves to victory.

That leaves execution as the true matchup to determine who will win. (Well, that and sloppy officiating- but not gonna go there). Which team will make more mistakes? According to NFLpenalties.com the Texans were the 7th most penalized team in the regular season, with 141 flags thrown at them. That amounted to 989 yards given away due to penalties. The Steelers were 7th from the bottom with only 116 hankies, losing 803 yards to them.

With turnovers, the other costly mistake, Houston has a +17 differential while the Steelers are at +12. Based on that criteria for making predictions, it seems the Texans will likely win a close one, marked by a costly turnover or two in their favor.

Houston’s offense will benefit from no TJ Watt, and Pittsburgh’s offense will suffer at the hands of Will Anderson Jr and Danielle Hunter. At the end of the day, Anderson and Hunter will likely force Aaron Rodgers and the Steelers into making more mistakes. Edge: Houston. Literally.

Clayton A.:

Initial thoughts/concerns/advantage perception: The Pittsburgh Steelers were my ideal matchup in the first round for the Texans. Although neither the Ravens nor Steelers looked that intimidating on SNF, I preferred not to chance anything facing Lamar Jackson again (he owns Houston). With that said, DE T.J. Watt and the Steelers’ pass rush will be something to look out for, considering our O-line/situational playcalling tops out at serviceable at best most games. Also, Aaron Rodgers being able to dissect the secondary with his IQ and postseason experince concerns me. As a whole, the Texans need to be careful to not allow Pittsburgh to hang around by making it an ugly game (turnovers + sacks).

Advantage wise, the Steelers have a bottom-5 secondary in the NFL, along with not being that fierce against the run (average-ish). As a whole, they give up the most yards out of all remaining AFC teams. Also, they don’t have a juggernaut of an offense. With them being middle of the pack in scoring production, combined with having to face Houston’s #1 overall/#2 scoring defense, the Texans look to be in prime position to potentially dominate on both sides of the ball.

L4Blitzer:

You might argue that Houston got the best possible matchup against the Steelers. You could also argue “be careful what you wish for”. Houston’s defensive line should have a major advantage over the Steelers inconsistent line and while DJ Metcalf will be back for Rodgers, if Lassiter is healthy, then the secondary should be able to mitigate his impact. Of course, Houston’s weak offensive interior will have to deal with the threat of the Steelers interior defense, so that could make this a wash. Rodgers may not be what he once was, but he also has never lost to Houston (5-0), to include last season with the Jets.

The weather may not be as brutal next Monday vs. the game against Baltimore, but it is not the easiest place for teams to play, especially kickers. Fairbairn’s been good but remember his performance against the Chiefs in a winter playoff game last year. There is reason for optimism, but don’t sell the Steelers short for this matchup.

Kenneth L.

This is a tough, gritty, and honestly similar team to the Houston Texans. Their defense is playing the best ball they have all season. I’ve been impressed with Mike Tomlin and his week-in, week-out coaching with one of the most middling rosters in the league. He’s taken a poor team and turned them into a playoff team. How they perform at home will be quite intriguing. .

Houston has to shock the system; they need to get ahead early. Steelers faithful are quick to turn on Tomlin and this team. If Houston can take an early lead, they’ll immediately shift the energy in the stadium and disrupt the balance of an away playoff game.

The big caveat I found is they did not beat a single other playoff team in the regular season. Every game they won came against teams that didn’t make the playoffs. Ideally, that trend continues this week against the Texans.