By the skin of their teeth, the Pittsburgh Steelers are back in the playoffs.
They needed a 44-yard missed field goal by Baltimore Ravens kicker Tyler Loop on the final play of the NFL regular season to get there, but a win is a win. No matter how it comes.
However, just because a team makes the post-season, it doesn’t mean success is waiting on the other side.
If anyone knows that, it’s Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin.
Despite 19 consecutive non-losing seasons (yes, you read that right), playoff success has eluded Tomlin as of late.
The Steelers come into this year’s post-season on a six-game playoff losing streak under Tomlin, with their last win coming in 2016.
Unfortunately, snapping that six-game skid won’t come easy, as the Steelers host the Houston Texans and their top-ranked defence on Monday in the finale of wild-card weekend.
To get you set, here’s one key question for each team heading into a game that will put a bow on what was a thrilling week of playoff football.
One key question for the Steelers: Can quick-passing game slow down Texans’ pass rush?
The Texans enter the playoffs as the hottest team in football — winners of nine straight games to close out the regular season.
Houston hasn’t lost a game since Nov. 2, a span that includes wins over three other AFC playoff teams.
And that stretch has largely been on the backs of the Texans’ defence, which, by almost any metric you look at, is at or near the top of the league.
But if there were one team to counteract what this Texans’ defence excels at, it might be Aaron Rodgers and the Steelers.
Per Next Gen Stats, Rodgers comes into Monday’s game with an average time to throw of just 2.59 seconds this season. That’s the quickest among all 14 playoff quarterbacks and is also the lowest mark of Rodgers’ storied career.
That feels especially relevant given that lining up on the other side from Rodgers is the Texans’ stellar pass rush duo of Will Anderson Jr. and Danielle Hunter. The two combined for 27 sacks this season, and Tomlin knows what kind of challenge they will present for his team.
“Will Anderson and Hunter are simply the most dynamic edge rush tandem in the National Football League in 2025,” Tomlin said leading up to Monday.
That’s a huge boost for the Steelers’ offence, as Metcalf is easily their best receiver and can win quickly off the line of scrimmage.
However, Metcalf will likely see a heavy dose of first-team All-Pro corner Derek Stingley Jr., which is just another showcase of how fearsome this Houston D is at all levels.
But if Metcalf can win a few one-on-one matchups, and Rodgers can get his running backs involved in the short passing game, that’s likely their best path to moving the ball on a Texans’ defence that gave up a league-low 277.2 yards per game this season.
Otherwise, Rodgers’ potential final game of his NFL career could be a long one.
One key question for the Texans: Can offence protect the ball?
With the dominance of the Texans’ defence, their offence has flown a bit under the radar.
And rightfully so, as their numbers on that end this season don’t exactly pop off the page.
Led by third-year quarterback C.J. Stroud, Houston’s offence finished 18th in total production (327.0 yards per game), 22nd in rushing (108.9), 14th in passing (218.1) and 23rd on third down (37.2 per cent).
But the one thing they were exceptionally good at this season was not turning the ball over.
Only the Chicago Bears (11) had fewer turnovers than the Texans’ offence this year (12).
That’s the definition of playing complementary football with the kind of defence they have.
The Steelers’ best hope in this game is to get short fields off turnovers and minimize the amount of field Rodgers has to cover.
But despite the struggles this season, the one thing Stroud has proven throughout his young career is that he’s not afraid of the moment.
Stroud, 24, has one playoff win in each of his first two seasons and is already Houston’s all-time leader for post-season victories.
If he can play another clean game on Monday, it’s likely his defence will help him pick up a third playoff win.
