Battle Red Blog
For the 1st time in franchise history, the Houston Texans are a wildcard team in the NFL playoffs. Another novelty: their playoff run doesn’t start on Saturday in the opening slot. Monday Night Football will see the Texans face off against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
For those with really long memories, the Houston vs Pittsburgh playoff rivalry was a big deal during the Steelers initial Super Bowl era. Earl Campbell, Terry Bradshaw, Dan Pastorini, Jack Lambert. So many NFL legends went to war in those games.
Unfortunately for H-Town, the Steel City came out on top again and again in those storied matchups.
In the no-longer-existing AFC Central division, the Oilers and Steelers met twice a year, and 2 times in the AFC Championship game. In that era, the Steelers won 4 Super Bowls, while the Oilers ended their existence with none.
Jumping ahead to the new era of H-Town pro ball, the Texans have historically struggled in night games. Going into Monday night’s game, the Steelers lead the series between the 2 franchises 5-3.
NFL teams relying on kickers to generate the lion’s share of their offense tend to struggle in outdoor games in bad weather. The forecast as of this writing for Monday night in Pitt is 34* with 10mph, swirling winds and a 50% chance of precipitation.
Dome teams often struggle in winter, outdoor stadiums.
Those are all valid, historical reasons to give the edge in this game to the Steelers.
But, there’s another historical note that swings in H-Town’s favor: Defense wins championships.
Houston head coach Demeco Ryans and defensive coordinator Matt Burke have assembled, empowered and run an absolute lights out defense all season. If you listen to the NFL talking heads, the Texans are the team no other AFC contender wants to face in the playoffs, rightfully so.
And, numerous prognosticators already have the Super Bowl set as the Texans vs the Los Angeles Rams.
Danielle Hunter and Will Anderson Jr. will make Aaron Rodgers’ night absolutely miserable. And, just when the Steelers o-line thinks they have those 2 game-wreckers figured out, Tommy Togiai, Azeez Al-Shaair, Jalen Pitre and Kamari Lassiter are going to make plays.
Another historical marker to watch: dominant defenses playing in inclement weather tend to have slobber-knocker, knuckle-dragging, gut-grinding games with low scores and lots of violence.
How long can 4000 year old Rodgers survive the brutality of the Swarm City dawgs? Unless he has access to Brett Favre’s painkiller collection, there’s a solid chance he doesn’t play the full game.
In more recent history, Houston’s OC still hasn’t figured out how to consistently call positive offensive plays. Facing the T.J. Watt led Steel Curtain, Nick Caley is going to need to channel his inner Bulls on Parade or the Texans’ playoff run will be NFL (not for long).
