Steelers Learn Potential Divisional-Round Opponent

The Pittsburgh Steelers and Houston Texans will play on Monday Night Football for a trip to face the New England Patriots.

The Patriots, the No. 2 seed in the AFC, defeated the Los Angeles Chargers, 16-3 on Sunday Night Football, clinching their spot in the divisional round. The No. 6-seeded Buffalo Bills upset the Jacksonville Jaguars earlier on Sunday in the other AFC Wild Card game, sealing three of the four Divisional Round teams and pigeonholing the winner of the Steelers-Texans showdown in one slot.

The No. 6 Bills will go on the road to face the No. 1 Denver Broncos in the second round, while the winner of the No. 4/5 matchup between the Steelers and Texans will visit the Patriots.

The Steelers already played the Patriots at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts once this year, winning 21-14 in Week 3. The Patriots were undefeated on the road this year, with all three of their losses coming at home.

That was only the second win for the Steelers at Gillette Stadium since it opened in 2002. They are 2-6 in the venue, including one playoff loss after the 2016 season — the start of the team’s current six-game postseason losing streak.

Despite going on the road next week, they could still return to Pittsburgh for a home AFC Championship Game. They’d need to beat the Patriots and have the Bills defeat the top-seeded Broncos in Denver in order to host the Bills in the AFC title game.