The Houston Texans have done it! After one of the most demoralizing starts to the regular season in recent history, the Texans have fought their way back into the playoffs and have won their first road playoff game in franchise history against the 10-7 Pittsburgh Steelers. With that win, the Texans have sent hall-of-fame QB Aaron Rodgers packing into retirement, sent Steelers’ longtime head coach Mike Tomlin off the podium, and reached the high watermark of every Houston Texans team of the past. That’s right, there has never been a Texans team to reach beyond the divisional round of the postseason, so what special sauce do the 2025 Texans have hidden up their sleeve that will blast them through that glass ceiling? Well, after watching that big wildcard win, I’ve come away with 5 big takeaways that I think Texans fans can hold onto as they prepare for the biggest game of the DeMeco Ryans/CJ Stroud era to date:
1. The entire Texans defense is somehow still getting better.
Try to remember what you thought of QB Aaron Rodgers four years ago, right after the 2021 season. He’s fresh off of his second MVP season in row, thrown for over 4,000 yards, 37 touchdowns to just 4 interceptions, and his Green Bay Packers just clinched the 1-seed after a dominant regular season. Rodgers was already 38 years old at the time, so many were already wondering when his final season might be here – if it wasn’t here already. What do you think his last game would be like? Would it end in a climatic final playoff game with the Packers, with Rodgers throwing Hail Mary’s until the very end? Would he ride off into the sunset like QB Peyton Manning, winning a Super Bowl in his last game? Or…would it be in a wildcard blowout while he’s playing for the Pittsburgh Steelers? Something tells me you wouldn’t have predicted that last one, and not only has it come true, but his final pass as a Steelers QB (and potentially as an NFL player) will go down as a pick six thrown directly into the hands of Texans S Calen Bullock. Even though these great quarterbacks are held up as kings amongst men, their final moments are often a bit ugly, and Rodgers’ final game was no exception.
The Texans’ vaunted DB corps came to play
H/T
@nextgenstats https://t.co/Sq1qFBEs4I pic.twitter.com/PHf5U6ZrV6
— The 33rd Team (@The33rdTeamFB)
January 13, 2026
Rodgers knew the danger of targeting Houston’s ball-hawking secondary coming into the game, so for much of the contest, he routinely targeted the flat and space just beyond the line of scrimmage, looking for his RBs or TEs to find an opening and make a play. But, to his surprise, LBs Azeez Al-Shaair, Henry To’oTo’o, and S Jalen Pitre stuck to Steelers’ receivers like glue, blasted through would-be blockers, and ruined plays meant to give the Rodgers-led offense a fighting chance. And, when Rodgers wasn’t finding a receiver to quickly take the ball from him, he was in for a world of pain administered by the entire Texans defensive line. It was a complete performance at all levels of the Houston D, but before we give them too much praise, let’s move on to one of the more unlikely bright spots on Monday’s win…the Texans offensive line?
2. The offensive run-blocking was…great?
Maybe the most stunning development last night was the offensive line, and it wasn’t because they were bad!
Ohhhhh, ohhhh how I’ve waited for this moment! So long ago were the days that the Texans offensive line could be described as “bullies” on the field, or “maulers” of the opposing defensive line like they were on Monday. And not against just any defensive line, but the
Steelers defensive line?
Oh, what a day of days! Even though this offense continues to be as predictable as a slot machine, they continue to piece together long, grinding drives each week. On Monday night, Houston’s heroes on the ground were RG Ed Ingram, C Jake Andrews, and rookie RB Woody Marks. Marks notched the first 100+ yard rushing game of his NFL career, and that credit deserves to go to the whole team, with every lineman, tight end, and wide receiver making a big block at some point or another.
Against the vaunted Pittsburgh run defense, the Texans rushed for 164 yards on 31 attempts (5.3 Y/A) and 1 touchdown, with Woody Marks tallying up 112 rushing yards and Nick Chubb, 48 yards. On multiple first downs, the Texans were able to simply pound their tailbacks straight up the middle for moderate, 4-6-yard gains. This dominance up the middle continued to wear on the Steelers into the second half, with 7 of Houston’s 14 runs in the second half going for over 5 yards. After a performance like this, the big guys up the middle deserve to feel themselves a bit, and it looks like Aireontae Ersery is doing just that:
Tytus Howard on IG:
pic.twitter.com/rxVWPL6cjJ
— Houston Stressans (@TexansCommenter)
January 13, 2026
I never thought I’d see a picture of Texans offensive line coach Cole Popovich with grills, but I’ll take it! I think here marks as good a place as any to mention a chance encounter between Popovich and a former NFL lineman. At some point in December, Popovich was introduced to former NFL pro-bowl guard Mark Schlereth, and quickly asked him to give the Texans o-line a quick tutorial on how to block the wide zone rushing scheme, with Schlereth offering some testimony of the impromptu seminar here:
It’s a bit of an odd story, but reinforces the perception of the offense’s determination to be a run-heavy team. The Texans have continued to be a primarily gap-scheme based rushing team, but the zone scheme still to hangs around a rears its head for a few plays every week, with Ed Ingram and Jake Andrews looking solid on that front in limited action. But, besides the ground game, the Texans had another unlikely candidate for game MVP on Monday night:
3. Is Christian Kirk actually really good?
Another unlikely star in Monday night’s victory over the Steelers was WR Chrisitan Kirk, who led the team in receiving with 8 catches on 9 targets for 144 yards and 1 touchdown. The oft-forgotten slot receiver nearly eclipsed his regular season total in receiving yards in just one game, coming up big on three separate third-and-long conversions that alone accounted for 115 yards. These were backbreakers for the Steelers defense, keeping Houston on the field for both of their scoring drives in the fourth quarter.
Nick Caserio traded for Christian Kirk way back in March for a 2026 seventh-round pick, hoping that he would fill in the position of the currently injured WR Tank Dell as the speedy receiver for Houston’s passing offense. While he never fully realized his potential on the team during the regular season, Kirk more than made up for it on wildcard weekend, practically saving CJ Stroud from his worst performance of his career. In just one game, Kirk showed the route acumen, breakaway speed, and hot-hands that made him one of the highest paid free agents back when the Jaguars signed him in 2022. While his long-term role on the team may be in doubt considering Jaylin Noel’s presence and the looming return of Tank Dell, Christian Kirk can still earn himself plenty more fans in Houston come Sunday when the Texans travel to New England to face the Patriots – potentially without their #1 receiver, Nico Collins. Collins suffered a concussion against the Steelers which will likely keep him out of commission for at least the divisional game and potentially longer, making Kirk’s veteran presence at wideout a cherished asset as the stakes get higher.
4. The defensive line dominates again, and gets its second consecutive touchdown!
Everyone likes when the big men get a touchdown, but getting two of them in consecutive weeks almost seems like overkill! It’s like the Texans defense is just rubbing it in right in front of opposing teams, ripping their quarterback off of the football like an old band aid and sending their thickest players into the end zone.
Last week, DT Tommy Togiai put an exclamation point on the season finale against the Indianapolis Colts with a fumble returned for a touchdown, and this week, fellow DT Sheldon Rankins plucked the ball from the grass below him and went streaking into the end zone in a very similar fashion. Rankins’ touchdown came at a critical moment early in the fourth quarter when the Texans were only up 10-6, with his score signaling the feeding frenzy for the team to start. After that unlikely fumble-return touchdown, then Texans outscored the Steelers 13-0 and finished the game with a final score of 30-6. General manager Nick Caserio made the wise decision of bringing back Sheldon Rankins after he departed Houston for Cincinnati in 2024, and Sunday’s defensive touchdown alone made him worth the money.
But, besides just the underrated interior, the entire Texans defensive line was just fantastic. According to NFL Next Gen Stats, the Texans had a 45.9% pressure rate, while only blitzing four times the entire game, which should be impossible in the modern-day NFL. DEs Will Anderson and Danielle Hunter teamed up for one of their best performances of the season, sacking Rodgers 1.5 times and rushing him into errant passes every other possession. If he was on the fence about retirement, something tells me he’s on the other side of that fence right now.
Will Anderson Jr. and Danielle Hunter combined for 15 pressures and 1.5 sacks, leading a Texans pass rush that generated a 45.9% pressure rate.
Aaron Rodgers was pressured on a league-low 21.5% of his dropbacks in the regular season.
@HoustonTexans |
#HTownMade pic.twitter.com/wJJSOv3Xlc
— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats)
January 13, 2026
Anderson and Hunter form the best pass-rushing duo in the NFL, and in between them, Tommy Togiai and Sheldon Rankins form arguably the most disruptive interior rush in the NFL. But, despite all of these big plays and good performances, this was still not Houston’s best game of the year, for one very, very large reason. Yes, it’s time to talk about the elephant in the room:
5. …We need to talk about CJ Stroud.
Out of the world of positives that came out of this game, the lone demerit is from one of the unlikeliest of suspects: QB CJ Stroud. Be it jitters, youth, sickness, or some concoction of unfortunate events, it was clear something was rubbing Stroud the wrong way all game long. At the very minimum, Stroud is normally a clean and efficient quarterback, and at his best, Stroud is one of the best passers in the entire country. But, tonight, in the playoffs, Stroud fumbled the ball away FIVE separate times, had communication errors with his center that led to multiple errant snaps, and threw an ugly interception down at the Steelers 3-yard line right after halftime. If it wasn’t for Houston’s fantastic defense, Stroud could have been the lone player responsible for Houston losing this wildcard game. After a season of largely adequate-to-great performances, what in the world happened to him on Monday night?
In my cursory review of the game since it concluded, the best explanation I can conjure up for Stroud’s struggles is the panic (sometimes warranted, sometimes not) that would course through him every time he was pressured, or perceived pressure inside the pocket. When Steelers LB TJ Watt was fast approaching, CJ Stroud’s efficiency plummeted, and since his favorite target, WR Nico Collins, was often blanketed by Steelers CB Joey Porter Jr., Stroud wasn’t able to fling the ball to his safety net like he’s used to. A combination of this good coverage and pressure is what I believe led Stroud to get a little antsy in the pocket, which led him to make more mistakes in snapping the ball and losing coordination with his center, Jake Andrews. At one point, Stroud and Andrews had decided to practice snapping the ball on the sideline during the wildcard game, which may have led to a calming of his nerves and some improvement down the stretch, but it doesn’t exactly inspire confidence when your star QB is basically cramming for the test minutes before he takes the stage.
The Steelers offense trying to move the ball is like watching a 9 year old play Elden Ring on lethal difficulty and the Texans offense is CJ Stroud punching himself in the nuts
—
JP Acosta (@acosta32jp.bsky.social) 2026-01-13T03:18:52.383Z
He looked rattled, and was rattled, for a very long stretch of the game. Besides fumbling, Stroud also hitched with the ball in his hands multiple times, and threw the ball behind his receivers, which is ultimately what led to the interception deep in Pittsburgh territory. Against the New England Patriots, the Texans will lose a game where they turn the ball over six times, just like how the Steelers handed the Pats’ one of their three losses by winning the turnover margin so heavily. Without Nico Collins, there will be even more pressure on CJ Stroud to get over his jitters, stay cool in the pocket, and deliver on time. Will he respond well to the added pressure? Well, Stroud did lose Collins to a concussion earlier in season when the Texans were hosting the the San Francisco 49ers in week 8…and, naturally, he had one of his best games of the season! Against the 49ers, Stroud targeted WRs Jayden Higgins, Jaylin Noel, and Xavier Hutchinson heavily all game, leading to a total of 166 yards and 2 touchdowns between the trio of receivers. By the end of the game, Stroud had completed 30 of his 39 passes for 318 yards, 2 touchdowns, 1 interception, and a passer rating of 106.6. If Stroud can recreate that magic once again, he’ll be in good shape to win back everyone’s good graces in the divisional round. If not…well, calls for backup QB Davis Mills to enter the game will just keep growing.
Next week, the Texans will travel to New England to face the red-hot Patriots and their MVP-caliber QB, Drake Maye. How do you think the Texans will perform against him? Will Houston’s defensive line keep him contained, or will Maye cut the secondary to pieces before Will Anderson or Danielle Hunter can get to him? Will Christian Kirk show up big yet again and save Housotn’s hide on third down? Will CJ Stroud have a marvelous comeback performance against the Patriots? Let us know your predictions down in the comments below! For me….man, this is going to be a hard game. I think the defense will take a minor step back from the dominance they showed against the Steelers, but will still hold the blistering Patriots offense below 25 points. CJ Stroud will have a nice comeback performance, but something tells me we’ll be talking a little more about RB Woody Marks than Stroud by the time the game is over…My prediction: Houston: 26, New England: 24. This will be the Stefon Diggs revenge game, who is now New England’s leading receiver, so let’s show him what it’s like to be on the receiving end of this swarming defense!
Go Texans!
(@fball_insights) 
: 
He tied David Akers (2011) for most FGM (44) in a season in NFL history
