Can Stroud repeat his rookie magic against Pittsburgh's relentless pass rush, or will Watt and Highsmith rewrite the script?
As we head into this high-stakes Wild Card matchup, all eyes are on the Houston Texans’ sophomore sensation, C.J. Stroud. While the league is busy obsessing over Houston’s formidable defense, the real story for me is how Stroud will navigate the pocket against a Pittsburgh Steelers unit that essentially invented the concept of "havoc."
Back in 2023, a rookie Stroud dismantled the Steelers in a 30-6 rout, throwing for 306 yards and two touchdowns. But that was then. Today, the challenge has evolved. Stroud is no longer an unknown quantity, and more importantly, he is facing a Steelers pass-rush duo that is arguably the most disruptive in football.
The Edge Threat: Watt and Highsmith
The Texans’ offensive success begins and ends with their ability to neutralize T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith. In their last meeting, Houston remarkably kept Watt off the stat sheet in the sack column a feat rarely repeated in the NFL.
However, Watt is back from a recent lung injury and already showing his signature ability to flip a game, evidenced by his recent "luck-of-the-draw" interception against Baltimore. On the other side, Alex Highsmith remains one of the league's most underrated disruptors. Highsmith finished the 2025 season with 9.5 sacks, leading a Steelers unit that recorded more total sacks (48) than Houston's much-hyped group.
The Strategic Chess Match
If Houston is going to win, they have to address the "spinner" packages Mike Tomlin and Teryl Austin have been perfecting.
- The Blitz Dilemma: Stroud has proven competent against the blitz (99.2 passer rating this season), but he has struggled significantly when pressured by just a four-man rush.
- Timing is Everything: Stroud has accelerated his "time to throw," taking just 3.06 seconds on average per sack—the shortest in the league among qualifying QBs. This shows he isn't holding the ball, but it also means Watt and Highsmith don't need much time to wreck a play.
My Take: The Burden is on the Trenches
The Texans have rotated four different starting tackles in the last month. While they haven't surrendered a sack in three games, facing Watt and Highsmith in a playoff atmosphere is a different beast. Stroud is a master at finding Nico Collins when given a clean look, but the Steelers' defense thrives on making quarterbacks "feel" the rush even when it doesn't result in a hit.
For the Texans to advance, the offense cannot become one-dimensional. With a rushing attack ranked 29th in yards per attempt, Stroud is carrying a heavy load. If Watt and Highsmith can collapse the edges and force Stroud into the "spinner" pressures coming up the middle, it could be a long night for the Houston faithful.