Battle Red Blog
Playoffs. We’ve made it. Houston will face Pittsburgh in the first round and the writers of Battle Red Blog each provided their thoughts and considerations immediately after hearing the Steelers stole a last-second victory over the Baltimore Ravens.
Provide your initial thoughts on Houston’s matchup against the Steelers in the Wild Card. What are you concerned about and where do you think the Texans have an advantage?
I just don’t think the Steelers offense challenges our offense enough. My main concern is the Steelers’ front seven against this Texans offensive line. The Steelers defensive line may wreak some havoc and could cause a key turnover or two.
Secondly, the Texans set the record for field goals which is kind of a dubious honor. Pittsburgh is a tough place to kick as we saw on Sunday night. However, there is nothing to Steelers offense does that worries me, so the worries I’ve listed are relatively minor. If Houston can take care of the ball, they win. Another concern is the kicking conditions considering Houston lives on field goals.
Saw a reminder earlier of how the last time Aaron Rodgers faced a Demeco Ryans defense in the playoffs and got demolished. And that was a 49ers D that wasn’t at the level of what H-Town has going right now.
My concern is still the same as it has been all season: offensive play calling. Unless Jerome Bettis reveals a free agent clone of his prime self who signs with the Texans, the A-gap running game will be just as ineffective as it has been all year.
One thing I’ve come to realize about this 2025 Texans team is they find a way to win. In years past, players have given up, the team has looked confused, unmotivated, ill-prepared. They continually lost games they could have won, and/or lost by less than a single score. But Ryans has these guys focused on finding ways to win. Mike Tomlin has instilled that in his teams since day one. Meaning, this should be a game with two playoff caliber teams convinced they can will themselves to victory.
That leaves execution as the true matchup to determine who will win. (Well, that and sloppy officiating- but not gonna go there). Which team will make more mistakes? According to NFLpenalties.com the Texans were the 7th most penalized team in the regular season, with 141 flags thrown at them. That amounted to 989 yards given away due to penalties. The Steelers were 7th from the bottom with only 116 hankies, losing 803 yards to them.
With turnovers, the other costly mistake, Houston has a +17 differential while the Steelers are at +12. Based on that criteria for making predictions, it seems the Texans will likely win a close one, marked by a costly turnover or two in their favor.
Houston’s offense will benefit from no TJ Watt, and Pittsburgh’s...
