The game is at 7:15 p.m. CT, with the winner moving on in the playoffs.
PITTSBURGH — Sheldon Rankins returned a fumble by Aaron Rodgers 33 yards for a touchdown early in the fourth quarter to highlight a dominant performance by the NFL’s top-ranked defense, and the Houston Texans beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 30-6 on Monday night for the first road playoff win in franchise history.
The Texans (13-5) play at New England (15-3) in the divisional round on Sunday night.
C.J. Stroud turned it over three times but also threw a first-half touchdown pass to Christian Kirk, who had eight catches for 144 yards. Woody Marks had 112 yards rushing for Houston, which had been 0-6 on the road in the postseason before shutting down Rodgers and the Steelers (10-8).
Marks’ 13-yard touchdown run with 3:43 to go sealed it, and Calen Bullock added Houston’s second defensive score with a 50-yard pick-6 less than a minute later on Rodgers’ final throw of the game — and possibly his 21-year career.
Rodgers passed for just 146 yards as the Steelers were held to 175 yards of offense. The four-time MVP will wait until the offseason before deciding whether to return next fall.
While Rodgers’ play down the stretch was one of the reasons the Steelers won the AFC North, he struggled in much the same way his predecessors Russell Wilson and Mason Rudolph did as Pittsburgh lost its seventh straight playoff game and dropped a Monday night home game for the first time since 1991.
His Hall of Fame career may have ended on a forced downfield throw that Bullock stepped in front of. Rodgers tried and failed to tackle Bullock on the way to the end zone.
The Steelers’ defense, long the biggest problem during a playoff victory drought that is nearing a decade, forced Stroud into numerous mistakes and kept Pittsburgh in the game until late.
The result, however, was the same as it has been for the Steelers and coach Mike Tomlin since they fell to New England in the 2016 AFC championship game, with a long walk to the locker room and a longer-than-hoped-for offseason to figure out what went wrong.
Houston’s 10th straight win was hardly a thing of beauty, as a thrilling opening weekend of the playoffs ended with a rock fight between two clubs trying to shed some ignominious playoff history.
The Texans survived the way they have much of the season, by letting the league’s best defense smother their opponent.
The Steelers failed to capitalize on the miscues from a jittery Stroud, who fumbled twice and threw a pick deep in Pittsburgh territory.
Second half
The Texans took the second half kickoff and drove down the field, but Pittsburgh intercepted CJ Stroud in the red zone and the drive stalled.
The Texans, as they have all season, relied again on their defense and Jalen Pitre to stop the Steelers again.
There was a scary sight for Texans fans in the fourth quarter. Receiver Nico Collins was carted to the locker room after hitting his head on the turf. He was being evaluated for a concussion, but a ride to the locker room wasn’t a good sign.
Ka’imi Fairbairn added a field goal to give Houston a 10-6 lead.
On Pittsburgh’s next possession, Rodgers was sacked by Will Anderson Jr. and fumbled. Sheldon Rankins picked it up and took it back for a touchdown. Houston up 17-6.
Houston would add a pick six to increase the lead to 30-6.
First half
Pittsburgh took an early lead on a Chris Boswell 32-yard field goal on their second drive of the game.
In the second quarter, Houston took the lead on a CJ Stroud to Christian Kirk touchdown pass. Houston goes up, 7-3.
On the drive, running back Woody Marks was hurt and was being evaluated for a concussion, but did return to the game.
After the second Stroud fumble of the first half, the Texans defense came up big.
Houston was driving to end the half, but the drive stalled at midfield. A punt ended the half. For the half, Stroud has four fumbles, two that were recovered by the Steelers.
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