Matt's Stats: Wild Card Game vs. Texans

SERIES HISTORY

The Texans joined the NFL in the 2002 season, and these franchises have only met eight times. The Steelers are 5-3. Houston won the first matchup during that 2002 season. Pittsburgh won the next two. Houston won the most recent matchup in 2023. This will be the first time the Steelers and Texans meet in the postseason. The Texans have won just once in Pittsburgh (Week 14 in 2002).

MATCHUP OVERVIEW

• The Steelers are 6-3 at home, 5-3 at Acrisure Stadium. They are also 8-4 in the conference. Houston is 5-3 on the road and 10-2 in the conference. The Texans have won a league-best nine straight while Pittsburgh has won four of their last five. Houston is seeking their third straight trip to the divisional round of the playoffs.
• The Texans 12 wins tied a franchise high. This is the first time in franchise history that Houston is a Wild Card team. All five of Houston's losses this season were one score games. Four of the five losses were against teams that finished with 12 or more wins (Rams, Jaguars, Seahawks, and Broncos).
• Houston has won 15 straight games when scoring 20+ points. They are 11-0 in 2025 when scoring 20+ points and are the only team without a loss when putting at least 20 points on the scoreboard.
• The Texans have played in nine games with fewer than 40 total points scored. Only Cleveland has more with 11.
• Houston is the seventh team in NFL history to make the playoffs after starting the season with an 0-3 record.
• DeMeco Ryans and C.J. Stroud are the fourth head coach-quarterback combination in NFL history to make the playoffs in each of their three first seasons together and Ryans is the sixth head coach since 2000 to make the playoffs in each of his first three seasons.
• This is Pittsburgh's 25^th division title, most in the NFL and two more than any other franchise.
• Houston has a +109-point differential (sixth best). The Texans +78 fourth quarter point differential is the best in the league.
• The Bears (+22) are the only team with a better turnover differential than Houston (+17). They had the third most takeaways (29), third most interceptions (19), and fourth most fumble recoveries (10). The Texans also only lost three fumbles: a league low. If you include failed fourth down conversions and missed field goals as turnovers, Houston's turnover differential (+24) is best in the league. Houston's +11 fourth quarter turnover differential is best in the league.
• Houston has a +16-sack differential.
• Houston and Indianapolis each ran 64 plays last week, but the Texans only held the ball for 28:15. However, for the season, only the Bills, Chargers, and Buccaneers have a higher time of possession than Houston (31:48). The Texans are also fourth in time of possession on the road (31:35).
• The Texans have 47 more first downs, 587 more passing yards, 75 more rushing attempts, and have run 103 more plays than their opponents.
• The Texans defense starts with the league's best starting field position at the opponent's 27.5-yard line. Pittsburgh's defense is second best at the 28.3-yard line.
• Houston has committed 118 accepted penalties, better than all but eight teams.
• Mike Tomlin is 22-3 on Monday Night Football. The Steelers have won 23 straight home games on Monday Night.
• Houston is 0-6 on the road in the playoffs in franchise history.

WHEN PITTSBURGH HAS THE BALL

• Texans allowed 5.5 yards per play in Week 18, but sit at 4.8 for the season, which is tied for fourth best. On the road, Houston allows 4.7 yards per play, only the Seahawks and Broncos are better.
• Houston is second in scoring defense (17.4 points per game).
• Only the Browns (24.7) allow fewer yards per drive than Houston (26.0) and only Seattle (1.52) allows fewer points per drive than the Texans (1.54). The Texans also allow the fewest field goals per drive (.10) and the fourth fewest touchdowns (.18) while forcing the second most punts (.44).
• The Texans allow a set of downs to turn into another set of downs or touchdown at a 64% clip, best in the league. Houston's opponents average 16.2 first downs per game, lowest in the league.
• Houston used their dime defense on just .3% of snaps, lowest in the league. They are in nickel 74% of the time.
• Houston allows 205.1-passing yards per game, seventh best. The Texans opponents have completed 319 passes this year. That is seventh fewest. They are also seventh best in yards per attempt allowed (6.48). Houston's completion percentage allowed of 59.3% is third best. The Texans have given up 20 passing touchdowns, only six defenses have allowed fewer.
• The Texans defense faces an average depth of target of 8.7 downfield. Only four defenses face a deeper average depth of target.
• Houston has a 6.3 yards per target allowed to tight ends, fourth best. Receivers aligned outside average 7.8 yards per target, fifth best. The Texans allow a league-best 54.5% completion percentage to wide receivers. Quarterbacks had more interceptions (12) than touchdowns (10) when targeting wide receivers vs. Houston.
• The Texans 47 sacks and 7.6% sack percentage are only behind six defenses. Only the Broncos and Browns have more yardage via sacks than Houston (366). Houston only had one sack last week, by Danielle Hunter. Hunter finished the season with 15 sacks, only behind Myles Garrett and Brian Burns. That was his fourth career season with 14+ sacks. Only Reggie White has more such seasons with five. Will Anderson has 12 sacks, only seven defenders had more. Hunter and Anderson are the only Texans with more than five sacks. Hunter and Anderson also have each forced three fumbles, most on the team. Houston is the only team with the league with multiple defenders with 12+ sacks.
• Since Week 14, Houston has had the NFL's lowest blitz rate.
• Houston has batted 14 passes, fifth highest.
• The Texans do have four defenders with four interceptions: Jalen Pitre, Derek Stingley, Kamari Lassiter, and Calen Bullock. That is the most such players in a season since the 2017 Jaguars.
• Houston's defense has faced just 400 rushing attempts, only the Jaguars and Buccaneers have faced fewer and only three defenses allow fewer rushing yards per game than Houston (93.7). The Texans allow 1.32 rushing yards before contact, only Denver is better.
• Houston held the Colts to just 76 rushing yards last week and Jonathan Taylor to just 26 yards on the ground on 14 carries. The Texans allow the fourth fewest rushing yards per game (73.5) to opposing running backs.
• Only the Bears and Jaguars force more turnovers per drive than Houston. The Texans took the ball away at least one time in 15 games this season, most in the league.
• The Texans allow just a 36.2% third down conversion rate, sixth best. They are also seventh best in fourth down conversion rate allowed (47.6%).

WHEN HOUSTON HAS THE BALL

• Houston averaged 5.3 yards per play against the Colts. For the season, Houston produces 5.1 yards per play which is only better than seven offenses. On the road, the Texans average 4.9 yards per play, only better than seven offenses.
• The Texans are averaging 21.9 offensive points per game (15^th).
• Only five offenses produce fewer yards per drive than Houston (28.9).
• The Texans turn a set of downs into a new set of downs or a touchdown at a 68% clip. That is only better than four offenses.
• Houston has an explosive play rate of 5.1%, better than only six offenses. They are 25^th in explosive rush rate and 22^nd in explosive pass rate.
• The Texans throw the ball at a 56.3% clip, 16^th highest in the league. Over their last three games they are at 50.8%.
• Houston utilizes 11 Personnel 66.0% of the time (fifth), 12 Personnel at 7.7% (31^st), and 21 Personnel at 4.6% (13^th). The Texans have an extra offensive lineman on the field at a 18.2% clip. Houston has three or more wide receivers on the field more than any offense in the league (70.3%) and use multiple tight ends at the league's lowest rate (15.3%).
• Houston's offense starts with the NFL's best average starting field position with an average start on their 32.8-yard line.
• Only six offenses have more punts per drive than Houston.
• 43.1% of Houston's passing yards have come after the catch. Only six offenses have a higher percentage.
• Stroud averages 6.1 yards per pass attempt outdoors this season in four games compared to 7.8 indoors. Since Stroud returned from injury in Week 13, he has completed 61.9% of his passes and has thrown eight touchdowns against three interceptions. Stroud has thrown for one or fewer passing touchdowns in five of his last six games.
• Despite only appearing in 15 games this season, Nico Collins' 1,117 receiving yards is only behind eight pass catchers. His 18 catches of 20+ yards are eighth most. Collins' 2.44 yards per route run is 11^th most among all wide receivers with at least 100 routes run. Collins has 75 or more receiving yards in six of his last eight games since returning from injury.
• Jayden Higgins has scored a touchdown in back-to-back games but hasn't topped two receptions in four straight games.
• Dalton Schultz led Houston with 82 receptions and was third amongst all tight ends for the season. He has three or more receptions in 15 of his 17 games and five or more in 10 of his last 14 full games.
• Woody Marks has two or fewer receptions in nine straight games and eight or fewer receiving yards in eight of those contests.
• The Texans didn't allow a sack last week. They now have gone three straight games without allowing a sack. Houston gives up a sack on 4.8% of dropbacks, only six offenses are better.
• The Texans average 3.9 yards per carry, better than only Las Vegas, New Orleans, and San Francisco. Only the Raiders have fewer than the Texans nine rushing touchdowns. Only three teams have fewer than Houston's 99 rushing first downs. The Texans average 1.27 yards before contact, better than only the Raiders and Browns.
• Marks averaged 3.6 yards per carry, second lowest among 52 players with at least 100 carries. He has 14 or more carries in six of his last seven full games but has yet to top 71 rushing yards in a game.
• Over his past six games, Stroud has just 32 rushing yards.
• Houston converts on 37.2% of their third down attempts, better than only nine offenses.
• Only the Saints and Jets are worse than Houston's 46.3% red zone conversion rate.
• On average, Houston runs 64.0 plays per game, sixth most.

SPECIAL TEAMS

• Ka'imi Fairbairn made a career high six field goals in Week 18.
• The Texans have made 48 field goals this season. Not only is that the most in the league, but the second-place team (Seattle) only has 41. All four of Houston's missed kicks have come from 50+ yards. They are also one of eight teams that didn't miss an extra point all season.
• Houston has downed 30 punts inside the 20-yard line. Only the Falcons and Jets have more.

MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT

October 10^th, 2014: Steelers 30, Texans 20, Heinz Field

As noted, these franchises have only squared off seven times. The most notable occurrence from this game was that the Steelers scored 21 second quarter points in a wild 120 seconds of playing time to take a 24-13 lead into halftime. This was Pittsburgh's 16^th straight victory on Monday Night Football. But the first 27 minutes of this game belonged to Houston on the backs of J.J. Watt and Arian Foster as they got out to a 13-0 early lead. But during the final three minutes of the first half, Martavis Bryant caught his first career touchdown. Then after a Foster fumble deep in his own end, Antonio Brown threw a touchdown to Lance Moore. After a Brett Keisel interception, Ben Roethlisberger hit Le'Veon Bell for a touchdown strike.

KEY MATCHUPS

Texans WR Nico Collins vs. Steelers CB Joey Porter - Collins didn't play last week, but he should be well rested for this Wild Card game. Collins is one of the premier wide receivers in the NFL with his great size and ability to make huge plays at all levels of the field. Porter has the size to match up well against Collins however and is having a fantastic season in his own right.

Steelers Offensive Tackles vs. Texans Defensive Ends - Houston has a lethal pair of edge pass-rushers in Danielle Hunter and Will Anderson. They are a massive challenge for every team Houston faces, especially coupled with consistently excellent play from the Texans coverage players. But the Steelers have gotten very strong play from Troy Fautanu and Dylan Cook in their own right.