The Pittsburgh Steelers fell to the Houston Texans on Monday night in an embarrassing fashion as the team lost the game by a score of 30-6. It was the seventh straight playoff loss for the Steelers as the fan base is sick and tired of the way in which the organization has been operating. The "win now" attitude has not worked for the better part of a decade, yet little change has been made over the years on the coaching staff. The Texans will now move on to play the New England Patriots on the road, which would have been a tough game for Pittsburgh.
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Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin during a postseason matchup between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Houston Texans.
The Texans played really well on Monday night, but the win was truly claimed by their defense. CJ Stroud and the offense gave the ball away three times, and the Houston defense scored two touchdowns in the game to put the contest out of reach. It was a good win for Houston as the franchise has now advanced in the playoffs in three consecutive seasons, but that might be the end of the road for the Texans. Not only do they have a tough matchup with the Patriots coming up, but their mascot also disparaged the Terrible Towel after taking down Pittsburgh.
TEAR-A-BULL pic.twitter.com/jmIKlus673
— TORO 🐃 (@TexansTORO1) January 13, 2026
It has long been believed that there is some sort of magic, or a curse, involved with the Terrible Towel. Usually whenever opposing teams disrespect the towel, bad things happen to that group. A losing streak will come around, or their season will end. That makes this action from the mascot at this time of year extremely risky, and it could be to blame for a potential loss in the Divisional Round.
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Andrew Wingard leads the Jaguars' charge of disrespecting the Terrible Towel after intercepting Mitch Trubisky in Week 8, 2023, at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh, PA.
There have been a few memorable instances of a team disrespecting the Terrible Towel and it really coming back to bite them. The most recent case of this was in 2023 with the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Jaguars beat the Steelers in Week 8 of the 2023 season, and safety Andrew Wingard celebrated a big play by taking a Terrible Towel from one of the fans near the field. Jacksonville moved to 6-2 after the win, but the Jaguars went on to lose four games in a row over the second half of the season and finished the year with a record of 9-8.
Not only did Jacksonville lose a little bit more after the antics from Wingard, but they also missed the postseason. The Jaguars were still in the mix come Week 18, but the group lost to the Tennessee Titans, and that loss actually helped propel Pittsburgh into the postseason.
The Titans also have an experience like this in their history. In 2008, Tennessee beat Pittsburgh in Week 16 to move to 13-2 on the year and a group of players then stomped out a Terrible Towel. Tennessee wound up finishing the year 13-3 after losing the regular season finale, however the Titans had already locked up a playoff spot and a first-round bye. The Titans then lost their first postseason game, and Pittsburgh went on to win the Super Bowl.
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Pittsburgh Steelers fans wave their Terrible Towels aggressively as Styx' famous song 'Renegade' plays during a home game at then-Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, PA.
Steelers Could Now Watch The Texans' Demise
Pittsburgh obviously wishes it was still alive in the AFC Playoffs, but the group came up short yet again. Houston is going to have its hands full when it comes to slowing down the Patriots' offense, especially trying to do that on the road in New England. A Texans loss would be another reason to believe that the Terrible Towel curse could be real, as it is a curse that has ravaged the AFC South over the years. Opposing players know about the danger that comes with messing with the Terrible Towel, and most avoid it.
What do you think of the actions by the Texans' mascot? Let us know in the comments below!
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