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The Houston Texans got a huge win on Monday night. Houston advanced to the divisional round after crushing Pittsburgh 30-6 in a dominant defensive performance. As usual, Houston’s defense led them to the decisive victory.
Texans edge rusher Will Anderson Jr. gave a measured response to his head coach declaring Houston had a GOAT defensive performance on Monday.
“Man, that was a stellar performance, not only by the defense but by this whole team,” Anderson replied, per Texans reporter Aaron Wilson. “But we talk about defense, we talk about swarming.”
Anderson also explained that Houston understood that their accomplishments during the regular season do not matter during the playoffs. He explained that the Texans wanted to maintain their same level of energy in the hopes of rolling that momentum over into the playoffs.
It certainly seems like that strategy worked.
Houston’s defense generated -33.4 expected points added (EPA), the fewest by any playoff defense over the last decade per Next Gen Stats.
The Texans now hold three of the top four best defensive performances in the playoffs, measured by EPA, between 2016 and 2025.
Just looking at the box score shows how dominant the Texans were against the Steelers. Houston limited Pittsburgh to 175 total yards and an awful 2-of-14 conversion rate on third downs.
The Texans also forced two crucial turnovers in the fourth quarter, both of which became defensive touchdowns.
The Texans punched their ticket to the next round of the playoffs. Now they have a chance to make franchise history with another win.
If Houston beats New England this weekend, they will advance to the AFC Championship game for the first time ever.
Anderson has his eyes locked in on that prize.
“We have a saying, man, ‘Round Two is not good enough. We’ve got to past the hump. And this really is going to take everybody dialed in, locked in,” Anderson said.
Next up for the Texans is a divisional round matchup against the Patriots. That game kicks off at 3PM ET on Sunday from Foxborough, Massachusetts.
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