Battle Red Blog
After one of the most thrilling regular season finales ever, the Houston Texans have found their wildcard opponent in the 2025 NFL Playoffs: the Pittsburgh Steelers. For many Texans fans, this was the preferred matchup of all opponents in the playoffs since the Steelers seem to be the most compromised team, squeaking into the postseason via a missed field goal as time expired. But, for me, this matchup is uniquely difficult, given that I am a Texans fan living deep in the middle of Steelers country. I’ve grown up in Steelers country, my entire family supports the Steelers, and I grew up with them as my childhood team. Now, the team that I fell in love with in college and have been covering for years is going to be facing my childhood team in the playoffs? In a community full of ride-or-die fans, how is a displaced, somewhat polyamorous Texans fan supposed to manage?
Well, by writing a preview post, of course! I’ve consumed every Texans and Steelers game of the 2025 season, so why not use this opportunity to see how they stack up against each other?
Between the Ravens and the Steelers, despite my personal connections to them, I believe the Steelers are the preferred opponent for Houston to face, and for reasons we all witnessed in that Sunday Night Classic. The Steelers aren’t exceptionally good at running nor passing, and have had to rely heavily on field goals and turnovers to tilt the game in their favor. They relied on third and long completions, penalties, and a big game from DT Cameron Heyward to keep Baltimore’s offense down, and they still needed a field goal to veer wide right as time expired to win the game. In an odd sort of way, the Steelers are the 2025 Houston Texans, but without the great defense. So, how do the Texans really stack up to them? Well, let’s start with Houston’s offense:
Next week, the Texans offense will have the pleasure of facing a menacing front seven that will remind them very much of their own defense, but without the multitudes of ball-hawks in the backfield to scare QB CJ Stroud. Pittsburgh’s #1 CB, Joey Porter Jr. is a decent and lanky defender that should have some success covering Texans WR Nico Collins, but after him…the depth falls off quickly. The only CBs left on the team after Porter are James Pierre and Asante Samuel Jr., who have both had multiple games they’d rather forget about while on the Steelers. Pierre has improved down the stretch, but when Stroud drops back to pass, he should find an open Jayden Higgins, Jaylin Noel, or Dalton Schultz on almost every attempt. At some point or another, either Porter, Pierre, or NB Brandin Echols is going to leave someone wide open downfield, and all Stroud will have to do is stay upright long enough to make the throw.
At safety, where Jalen Ramsey and Kyle Dugger claim the starting spots,...
