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Within the remaining sport of Wild Card Weekend, the Pittsburgh Steelers play host to the Houston Texans.
Pittsburgh received the AFC North in dramatic vogue, prevailing over the division rival Baltimore Ravens because of a missed subject purpose on the ultimate snap of the common season. The Steelers completed the season 10-7 after profitable 4 of their remaining 5 video games, they usually enter the postseason taking part in a few of their finest soccer of the yr.
Houston completed second within the AFC South at 12-5, however ended the yr as the most popular crew within the NFL. The Texans dropped to 3-5 after a Week 9 loss to the Broncos, then ripped off 9 consecutive wins to finish the season. Led by one of the crucial ferocious defenses within the league, they’re actually taking part in their finest ball of the yr as properly.
Will the Texans go on the street and knock off Pittsburgh, or will the Steelers pull off the upset? We’ll discover out quickly sufficient. Earlier than we dig into some key storylines, here is a take a look at how one can watch the sport.
The place to observe Steelers vs. Texans reside
- Date: Monday, Jan. 12 | Time: 8:15 p.m. ET
- Location: Acrisure Stadium (Pittsburgh)
- TV: ABC/ESPN | Stream: Fubo (Attempt at no cost)
- Comply with: CBS Sports activities App
- Odds: Texans -3, O/U 38.5 by way of DraftKings Sportsbook
Key Storylines
- Scorching on the proper time. Each of those groups enter this sport taking part in fairly properly. As talked about above, the Steelers have received 4 out of their final 5 video games and the Texans have received 9 in a row. The Steelers have turned the ball over simply as soon as throughout that five-game span and have scored 26-plus factors in every of the 4 wins after doing so simply 5 occasions of their first 12 video games. The Texans have compelled a number of turnovers in 5 of their 9 consecutive wins and allowed 20 factors or much less in six of them.
- Aaron Rodgers within the playoffs. Rodgers received a Tremendous Bowl in his second postseason look, going 4-0 within the playoffs alongside the way in which. Since then, although, he’s simply 7-9 in postseason motion. He is performed pretty properly (63.8% completion fee, 7.3 yards per try, 32 touchdowns in opposition to 10 interceptions) however his groups have misplaced a number of video games they most likely ought to have received, together with a pair of additional time losses. Rodgers additionally hasn’t truly performed within the playoffs because the 2021 season, when he went 20 of 29 for 225 scoreless yards in a 13-10 loss to the 49ers. He’ll now face among the finest defenses within the NFL this time round.
- Houston’s protection. The Texans completed the season first in yards allowed, second in factors allowed and tied for first in TruMedia’s model of EPA per play. You possibly can’t actually throw the ball on them — groups accomplished solely 59.3% of their passes at a median of simply 5.8 yards per try, with 20 touchdowns in opposition to 19 interceptions. Opponents averaged -0.13 EPA per dropback, which suggests the Texans mainly turned each quarterback into J.J. McCarthy. However you can also’t actually run on the Texans. Opponents averaged simply 4.0 yards per carry, and only one.08 per carry earlier than contact, by way of TruMedia. The Texans are among the finest tackling groups within the NFL, they usually do not enable groups to get going downhill in opposition to them.
- Playoff image. After the Patriots and Payments received on Sunday, the winner of this sport will head to New England to tackle the Pats within the divisional spherical. New England is coming off a 16-3 victory over the Chargers. The Steelers beat the Patriots earlier this season in a sport the place the Pats turned the ball over 5 occasions. The Texans and Patriots did not play, because the Pats’ solely regular-season video games in opposition to playoff groups had been that sport in opposition to the Steelers and a pair of matchups in opposition to the Payments. That win over the Pats was Pittsburgh’s solely victory in opposition to a fellow playoff crew throughout the common season, because the Steelers went 1-5 in these video games. The Texans, in the meantime, went 4-4 in video games in opposition to playoff groups after beginning the season 0-3 in these contests.
Steelers vs. Texans prediction
Look, I have been choosing in opposition to the Steelers all season they usually preserve making me look silly by pulling video games out of their collective butts. However I am nonetheless choosing in opposition to them right here. I simply can’t see them constantly transferring the ball in opposition to this ferocious Houston protection — particularly if Rodgers is unwilling to carry on to the ball for lengthy sufficient to even attempt pushing it down the sphere. All of the checkdowns he likes to throw to the working backs do not work as properly in opposition to the Texans as they do in opposition to different groups due to how they rally to the ball. I am undecided Houston can transfer the ball with any diploma of consistency on the opposite aspect, however I’ll again the crew with the perfect single unit within the sport right here.
Decide: Texans 16, Steelers 10 | (Texans -3, Below 38.5)
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