It wasn't the ending they wanted, the Steelers falling to the Houston Texans, 30-6, in the Wild Card playoffs at Acrisure Stadium.
"Certainly, a disappointing end to our season," said Coach Mike Tomlin. "We've certainly got to give Houston a lot of credit, in particular their defensive unit. I thought they ruled the day. They certainly had a reputation for that coming in, and they confirmed it with their performance. That's just how it goes."
The Steelers defense had a strong performance themselves, creating three turnovers.
But they weren't able to put the ball in the end zone off of those turnovers.
"We didn't capitalize off of turnovers in the first half," said Tomlin. "We were plus two and still down by a point at the half, and that's just not a good sign."
On both sides of the ball the team didn't put up the numbers they would like on third down, with the Texans able to convert on 10 of 15 third down conversions, while the Steelers were just two of 14.
"I was talking post-halftime about our inability to perform on third down, which I thought was significant, and that continued to be into the second half," said Tomlin. "But you've certainly got to give those guys credit. We didn't do enough in possession down ball to get things going, any sort of rhythm or real points and so forth. I thought that they did a real good job on third down, and we didn't get off enough on defense, and particularly as the game wore on, it became an attrition component of it.
"It's disappointing, but I'm certainly thankful for this group and their efforts. But it's a disappointing night."
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The Steelers offense wasn't able to get on track against the Texans, putting up only six points on two Chris Boswell field goals.
"I don't feel like we ever got the momentum on our side, honestly," said quarterback Aaron Rodgers. "We had a lot of chances. Defense played really good in the first half. They've got a good defense.
"But we had a lot of opportunities. A lot of opportunities. Didn't make the most out of hardly any of them."
The Steelers were only two of 14 on third down, something Rodgers said stemmed from them not moving the ball on first and second down.
"We had a lot of third and 10 plusses to start," said Rodgers. "Those are low-percentage conversions. I think first and second down wasn't very good. That's why third down was difficult."
Rodgers said it was a myriad of things that led to the offense not being able to get on track, especially as the game rolled on.
"I feel like every play is unique to itself," said Rogers. "We had some opportunities, and either drops or pressure or just total Mas (missed assignments), or not the right throw. We had a lot of chances. We had plays set up with missed assignments. We had opportunities to take shots with not enough time.
"We just didn't make the most of any of the little opportunities.
"Against a good defense like this, you're not going to get many opportunities, and when you get them, you've got to make the most of them.
"There were a lot of plays there to be made for sure. They've got a good defense, no doubt about it. But we had them on our home field, on our grass and had opportunities, especially in the first half, to put a lot of points on the board and make it easier for our defense that was playing really good."
Rodgers, who in his 21st season in the NFL didn't discuss his future after the game, did say he enjoyed this year with the Steelers.
"I was fortunate to play in an incredible football city (Green Bay) for 18 years, and I never took it for granted. I enjoyed that time there," said Rodgers. "This has been a really beautiful back end to that first 18, to be able to be here for a year.
"This is a special place. You've got tradition, got excellence, got all-time greats. You just look around the stadium, just to see the fans. There wasn't a big splattering of Texans fans, and there's a lot to be said for that.
"There's only a few places in the league that have the tradition and the town and the organization, and I'm thankful that I played for two of them."
Rodgers said there is a lot that will resonate with him from the season, even if the year ended in disappointment.
"There's so many fun moments from the year, starting going back to Latrobe and the beauty in that opportunity, to come together as a team," said Rodgers. "We faced a lot of adversity.
"But there's a lot of special moments that I'll think back on. Right now, it's just disappointment. But thankful to put the colors on and run out of the tunnel and be a part of this organization."
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Linebacker T.J. Watt couldn't hide the disappointment following the game.
You could hear it in his voice, see it on his face.
And it was understandable.
Watt finished the night with six tackles and a fumble recovery in his second game back from the lung issue he dealt with over a month ago.
But he wanted a whole lot more. He wanted a playoff win.
"This is still fresh," said Watt. "It's extremely frustrating. Extremely frustrating."
Watt said the team had good energy going into the game, something he thought would translate onto the field.
"I felt great," said Watt. "Confidence was great. Execution in practice was great. Meetings were great. Camaraderie was great.
"Thought it was going to be a different story."
The Texans were able to put up 164 yards rushing, with Watt crediting their execution.
"I think it was just execution," said Watt. "You've got to give them a lot of credit. They played good ball. They were able to move the ball.
"We weren't able to stop them in critical downs where it was crucial. Same story."
They also had the third down success, something the defense focused on during the week.
"We talked all week about not letting them stay on schedule," said Watt. "Obviously, that wasn't accomplished. Not being able to get them one-dimensional like we talk about each and every week, that's kind of the story of the season is not being able to stop the run in critical moments in big-time games.
"We talk about playoff football, especially in cold weather, it's going to be all about the run game and establishing the run. When you can't do that, it's a butt-kicking."
While there was disappointment, Watt does know there is still a lot of young talent on the defense that grew as the year went on.
"It's huge," said Watt. "Really excited for those guys and their development. There's a lot of hard work that goes into it behind the scenes before those big plays are made, and really proud of those guys and how they've continued to grow throughout the year, and excited for them next year."
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