The promise of a late-season surge vanished into the cold night at Acrisure Stadium on Monday. For the seventh consecutive time, the Pittsburgh Steelers walked off a postseason field as the losing side, falling 30-6 to a relentless Houston Texans squad. The defeat doesn’t just end the 2025 campaign; it extends the franchise’s playoff victory drought to nine years.
The loss also hands Mike Tomlin a dubious piece of history: his ninth one-and-done postseason exit, tying him with Marty Schottenheimer for the NFL record. Since their last playoff win in 2016, the Steelers have been outscored 260-154 in their last seven postseason defeats.
Despite entering the night with momentum from a win over Baltimore, the offense turned in a horrific performance. For the second time in three games, Pittsburgh failed to find the end zone. The Texans outgained the Steelers 408-175, and after the second series of the game, Pittsburgh failed to record a single play longer than 21 yards.
If this was the final chapter for Aaron Rodgers, it was a bitter ending. Rodgers finished 17-of-33 for 146 yards with no touchdowns. While he was a victim of several drops, he was under siege once the Texans’ pass rush was unleashed. A Sheldon Rankins 33-yard fumble return touchdown, from a Will Anderson Jr. strip-sack of Rodgers effectively ended the game and the season.
While the defense forced early turnovers, the lack of consistent pressure from the edges and a porous interior run defense told the real story. Jack Sawyer provided a spark with a strip-sack of C.J. Stroud early, but that was the only sack recorded by a Steelers outside linebackers all night.
T.J. Watt remained active with six tackles and a fumble recovery, but was never a major factor. Alex Highsmith was uncharacteristically quiet, finishing with just a single tackle. The rush was off all night and a step behind Stroud. Inside, Patrick Queen did the heavy lifting with a team-high 10 tackles, but his efforts couldn’t mask the fact that Houston found far too much success running through the middle of the defense. Keeanu Benton and Derrick Harmon registered sacks, and Yahya Black recovered a fumble, but the unit simply could not stop the run when it mattered most.
The “Achilles’ heel” for the defense all season has been giving up big plays. Last night it proved fatal once again. Receivers running wide open 5 yards behind safeties became a recurring nightmare. The tipping point came on a 3rd-and-15 early in the fourth quarter: Christian Kirk hauled in a 46-yarder that set up a field goal to make it 10-6. Kirk torched the secondary for eight catches and 144 yards, highlighting a desperate need for safety and corner help this offseason.
The “what-ifs” will haunt the team all off season. A late first-quarter drop by DK Metcalf could have seen the Steelers up 6-0 or 10-0. Instead, a punt followed, and Houston marched 92 yards to take the lead. Metcalf, who carries a $31 million cap hit next season, never really found his groove in Pittsburgh, making a “true” No. 1 receiver a top draft priority.
The special teams unit were the lone bright spot. Chris Boswell improved to 19-for-19 in his postseason career with two field goals, and Corliss Waitman pinned Houston inside the 20 four times.
The officials have been horrendous all season, last night was an exception. While there were several calls you could argue, they never slowed the game down and they were never really a factor in the outcome.
Mike Tomlin is going to get absolutely roasted by the fanbase and the press after this exit. The scrutiny also falls on Arthur Smith and Teryl Austin. The refusal to involve Pat Freiermuth until the game was out of hand, and the conservative play-calling following defensive turnovers, such as a 3-yard loss on a run after Watt’s recovery at the Houston 21, left the team settled for field goals instead of touchdowns. In the playoffs, you need a killer instinct and the Steelers lacked it.
The ability to stop the big plays on third down and not be able to execute any plays on third down was the Achillies heel all season and while they showed flashes of brilliance, they simply lacked consistency to be a serious contender.
It will be a long off season for the Steelers and it will be one of great change.
Beer We Go Steelers, Beer We Go!
My “GAME BEER” goes to: Honestly, no one deserves it this time, the game was just frustrating. Honorable mentions: Corliss Waitman and Chris Boswell, who both performed well all season and stood out again in this game.
Beer of the Game: Had to go to back to old faithful…Miller Lite! KGB went with Corona Light
“Steel the Snacks”: We did “Steel the Snacks” but last night we played a “road game” for the first half. We went to a local BBQ restaurant where we had Texas Style Hot BBQ, Pulled Pork, BBQ Chicken and a Half Rack of Ribs. The food was not up to KGB standards but was good. They basically ran us out of the bar at half time.
My stat of the week: The obvious one, seven straight playoff losses. Last night felt like the best matchup style wise and honestly believed the Steelers had a strong edge. The score didn’t tell the story, but the fact the Steelers were roasted was just horrendous.
My thoughts on next week: This is going to be one of the hardest off seasons ever. There will be a great deal of change, and the Steelers will have several needs on both sides of the ball.
Jersey of the Week: Alejandro Villanueva, 78, Salute to Service. I was going with Deebo but switched at the last minute because I won this jersey at the restaurant we were going to and I wanted some offensive line help. Nothing seemed to work out.