The Pittsburgh Steelers have clinched a spot in the postseason for the third straight year, only this time the franchise did it by winning the AFC North. The Steelers were able to secure the division crown by beating the Baltimore Ravens in Week 18 of the 2025 season, in a game that was essentially a playoff matchup as the winner would advance to the postseason, and the loser would see its season come to a close. Thankfully the Steelers came out on top and will host the Houston Texans on Monday night at the end of Wild Card Weekend, while the Ravens have already started to make changes as the organization fired John Harbaugh.
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Former Baltimore Ravens Head Coach John Harbaugh smiles while on the field ahead of a home game.
The Texans are one of the hottest teams in the NFL as the group will be going for its 10th consecutive win when it travels to Pittsburgh for the game on Monday. On the other hand, the Steelers have had a tumultuous season and the franchise is looking to advance in the postseason for the first time in nearly a decade. There is a lot to be worried about going up against Houston, but former Pittsburgh running back and Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee Jerome Bettis delivered some words of encouragement to Cam Heyward on the most recent episode of Not Just Football.
"That's the exciting part about this," Bettis said. "There's nothing in this game that says you got no chance. Absolutely not. This is one of those games where we play our best football, then we got a great chance to win this football game. Right? That's the excitement about this game, and I think that's what the fans will understand and take with them and I think that's why the crowd is going to be electric. It's going to be the crowd that this defense can feed off of and actually utilize in this football game."
Pittsburgh has been slaughtered in recent years when clinching a playoff spot. It has always been one of the last few Wild Card spots and Pittsburgh would have to travel to play one of the better teams in the conference, but that is not the case this time around thanks to the fact that Pittsburgh won their division. Houston is a great team, but the Steelers have a great chance to come out on top of this game.
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CJ Stroud throws a touchdown pass as the Texans defeat the Steelers during the 2024 preseason.
Aside from the X's and O's on the football field, this is going to be a very tough environment for the Texans to play in. The crowd at Acrisure Stadium is expected to be electric as Bettis mentioned, and the weather is also going to favor the Steelers. It is supposed to be below freezing with a little bit of wind, and that is going to be hard to play in for a team that normally plays in a dome. The Texans have not played outside since December 7th, so it will be interesting to see how the team performs off the bat.
Houston has made the postseason in each of the last two seasons, and the Texans have won a playoff game in each of those instances. However, those postseason wins came at home after winning the AFC South. The group under Head Coach DeMeco Ryans with CJ Stroud at quarterback is 0-2 on the road in the playoffs.
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Texans Head Coach DeMeco Ryans with his former Offensive Coordinator Bobby Slowik.
Steelers Must Find A Way To Move The Ball Efficiently
The Texans have what is probably the best defense in the NFL as the group is top three when it comes to yards, points, and takeaways. It is going to be a challenge to put points on the board, but hopefully the Pittsburgh defense can redeem itself some from its Week 18 collapse and put the offense in great situations to succeed. This can come by getting the Texans offense off the field quick, or by forcing turnovers.
What do you think of Bettis' take on this game? Do you agree? Be sure to comment below!
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