For the third postseason in a row, the Houston Texans embark on their journey to win a Super Bowl for the first time in the franchise's 24-year history. However, unlike the previous two attempts, the Texans will begin their AFC Playoff run on the road.

Due to not winning the AFC South (Jacksonville Jaguars), Houston will trade in the comfort of NRG Stadium for a round-trip ticket to Acrisure Stadium to face the Pittsburgh Steelers in a Monday Night Football Wildcard showdown. 

This is a theme of firsts this year for Houston, as this is their first time making the Playoffs as a Wildcard team, and their first time playing the Steelers in the postseason.

It's their first time winning 10+ games in a season for three-straight years, and it's their first time securing a playoff berth for the same time frame. It's also the first time Houston has ever fielded a defensive unit that finished in the top-two in both yards allowed (277.2/game, 1st) and points allowed (17.4/game, 2nd) in a season. 

Taking those things into consideration, one can understandably have a bit of hesitancy with feeling 100% comfortable with Houston's chances of advancing out of the first round this season. 

The Steelers would have home field advantage, the added benefit of playing in sub-40 degree weather (projected to be anywhere from 30-39 degrees at kickoff) and the mental edge of having a 23-game home win streak on Monday Night Football. 

Even still, Houston seems unfazed by the circumstances, as evidenced by head coach DeMeco Ryans' defiant statement given after Wednesday's practice. 

“Our team is ready to go anywhere, anytime, any place, we’re ready to go", proclaimed Ryans. 

Besides Ryans' comments, the Texans also have a template of team success to be inspired by; this being by way of the Kansas City Chiefs' Super Bowl road trip of 2023. 

In that season, the Chiefs finished 11-6 and had to play road Playoff games for the first time since Patrick Mahomes took over as quarterback and first made the postseason in 2018. Before then, Mahomes and the Chiefs had virtually made the AFC Playoffs the "Arrowhead Invitational" for all five years prior (in the words of 'First Things First' Co-Host Nick Wright). 

After never doing so before, the Chiefs had to first visit Highmark Stadium to face quarterback Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills in the Divisional round. Then, they pivoted to M&T Bank Stadium to take on the AFC #1 seed in quarterback Lamar Jackson the Baltimore Ravens. 

The Chiefs were successful in both, beating Buffalo 27-24 and Baltimore 17-10. This punched their ticket to the Super Bowl in Las Vegas, where they defeated quarterback Brock Purdy and the San Francisco 49ers by a final score of 25-22. This gave Kansas City its fourth championship in franchise history, and Patrick Mahomes his third ring in six seasons as a starting signal caller. 

The Texans are trying to make their own history in 2026, starting with taking down the Steelers this Monday night. It won't be easy, but what else is new for Houston at this point? They've lived "not easy" for 14 consecutive weeks just to make it this far. This time is no different. 

A true champion has to be prepared to defeat whoever, wherever and however. Ryans seems to have cultivated that mindset with his team, and now it's time to take their show on the road. 

Will the Texans overcome the odds and beat the Steelers at home on Monday Night? Let us know in the comments section below and by mentioning us at @Texans_RTB on X!