Texans fans pinpoint their ideal playoff foe. Discover why the Steelers' strengths and weaknesses make them the overwhelming choice for Houston's postseason aspirations.
The Buffalo Bills lost to the Philadelphia Eagles 13-12 in a Sunday Night Football thriller. As a result, the Houston Texans now officially own the fifth seed in the AFC. This is due to the Texans owning the tiebreaker advantage over Buffalo after their 23-19 win over Buffalo in week 12.
The Texans now face the Indianapolis Colts in week 18 with a chance to solidify a number of AFC playoff scenarios.
Scenario one: They could clinch the AFC South if they win and the Jacksonville Jaguars lose to the Tennessee Titans.
Scenario two: They beat the Colts, but the Jaguars defeat the Titans. Thus, Jacksonville wins the AFC South while Houston retains the fifth seed.
With the Colts reportedly likely to start Riley Leonard against Houston's starting defense, and Jacksonville facing a Titans squad currently slated to pick fourth in the 2026 NFL Draft, scenario two looks the most likely of the two. Thus, the Texans most likely will be preparing to hit the road and face the winner of the AFC North deciding matchup between the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers (due to either team then owning the fourth seed).
In preparation for the impending AFC seeding madness of week 18, the Texans Roundtable conducted a fan survey to gauge final sentiment on who the most preferred Wildcard opponent was.
In a 62.3% landslide, the fanbase overwhelmingly determined that the Steelers would be the most ideal matchup for the Texans when the AFC postseason begins next weekend. This would mean that Pittsburgh would have successfully fended off the late-surging Ravens for the final spot.
The Statistical Advantage
In this case, it would be a clash of the NFL's number one overall defense (272.4 yards/game) against a 42 year old quarterback in Aaron Rodgers and a 26th-ranked Pittsburgh offense (300.4 yards/game).
In conference terms, it would be the AFC's best remaining scoring defense (Texans, 16.6 pts/game) vs. the third-worst remaining scoring offense (Steelers, 23.2 pts/game).
On the flipside, the Texans would walk into Acrisure Stadium with the conference's second-worst remaining scoring offense (22.9 pts/game, second-worst in yards: 326.3/game), while the Steelers would possess the worst-remaining scoring defense (22.7 pts/game, also worst in yards: 356.8/game)
On both sides of the ball, the Texans would have the more favorable matchup between the two teams. It would be a welcome occurrence, as Houston has had to contend with an 0-3 start and top-10 units in both conferences weekly just to make it to this point in the year. As such, the Texans would enter this showdown more than prepared to play their best ball in a high pressure situation.
More New History
It would also be the very first time for the two franchises to meet one another in the playoffs. Thus, it's a chance for Houston to continue building on the new history they have been forging since 2023.
With a win against the Steelers in the Wildcard round, the Texans would then have to wait on the other results of Wildcard Weekend to know their next postseason destination for the Divisional round.
Do you think the Steelers should be considered Houston's most ideal playoff opponent to begin their Super Bowl journey? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below and on the official Texans Roundtable X account, @Texans_RTB!