Steelers Now
The referees missed a potential game-changing call in the Pittsburgh Steelers wild card loss to the Houston Texans.
The Pittsburgh Steelers were bounced in the first round of the playoffs once again, falling to the Houston Texans 30-6 on Monday night, but that’s not necessarily how things should have played out.
Trailing 10-6 with 11:23 left in the fourth quarter, Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers was hit, the ball came out and Texans defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins scooped it for 33 yards and a touchdown.
However, the refs missed a potential game-changing call on the play. Houston edge rusher Will Anderson Jr. clubbed Rodgers in the face, which could have been an unnecessary roughness penalty and a new set of downs for Pittsburgh’s offense.
MAJOR MISSED CALL BY THE REFS…#Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers got clubbed in the head by Houston defender on the fumble and return touchdown.
A hit to the helmet & unnecessary roughness penalty should have been called on the #Texans.
Game-changer.pic.twitter.com/RJ4VqtFN3F
— MLFootball (@MLFootball) January 13, 2026
Instead, the Steelers were put into what felt like an 11-point insurmountable deficit since the offense struggled to get anything going all night, and that proved to be exactly true.
It’s difficult to play the what if game, especially because Pittsburgh would have had to put together a touchdown drive at some point to win the game, which it hadn’t been able to do all night. That’s if Houston didn’t answer back with yet another touchdown, too.
The Texans did put together another touchdown drive in garbage time, capped by 13-yard rushing touchdown by running back Woody Marks.
However, there have been several times this season that the Steelers offense was almost nonexistent and then Rodgers was able to lead them on a game-winning drive.
Nonetheless, that isn’t how things played out, but the question is whether or not the refs are to blame and how much.
Pittsburgh could answer that question with how it decides to operate heading into yet another important offseason filled with uncertainty.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: Refs Missed Major Call in Steelers Playoff Loss to Texans
