What you are about to read might come off as wishful homer thinking from me, a Houston Texans fan, and I want to acknowledge that...yeah, maybe it is. Maybe I'm giving my team too much credit in the following bold predictions. Maybe I'm too confident that my team will beat one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time on the road on Monday night.
But that's what "bold predictions" are for, right? I'm not going to sit on the fence and play both sides here. No way — I'm going to predict three things that happen either in the game, or as a result of the game.
Here are three bold predictions for the Texans vs Steelers game on Monday night.
Houston's offense finds some life
The line on Houston this year has been that the team is winning in spite of its offense, but on Monday night, Houston will win because of its offense.
Pittsburgh allowed the fourth-most passing yards in the NFL this season. Houston hasn't been the great passing team, but I think something we saw out of Houston against the Chargers suggests C.J. Stroud has some big plays in him for this one.
That thing was Stroud embracing the deep ball early on, hitting rookies Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel on long touchdowns. Back in Stroud's rookie year, the Bobby Slowik-led offense routinely pushed the ball down the field, but that's been reined in lately. This will be the perfect time to go back to that mode of attack.
Aaron Rodgers is sacked five times
Aaron Rodgers has definitely lost a lot of his ability to move in the pocket post-Achilles tear, as his 61 rushing yards this season were his fewest as a starter. His ability to escape Houston's relentless pass rush is going to be a massive liability in this game.
But five sacks? Five's a lot of sacks! Well...we have history on our side here, as Rodgers has shown at times in the postseason that he'll hold on to the ball too long waiting for something to develop. He's been sacked five times in four of his playoff starts, including in his two most recent ones.
And just to bring things full circle, Rodgers was sacked five times in his very first playoff start, a 2010 overtime loss to the Cardinals. Doesn't it feel fitting that he'd be knocked down that many times in what could very likely be the final playoff start of his career as well?
This is Mike Tomlin's last game in Pittsburgh
Mike Tomlin's name had been floated as a potential candidate to be fired this offseason, but surely making the playoffs saved him, right?
I wouldn't be so sure. Tomlin's Steelers are only in the playoffs because Tyler Loop missed a field goal, and most people believe that if Loop makes that kick, it's Tomlin — not Baltimore's John Harbaugh — who gets fired. If the Steelers go out and post a stinker on Monday, is that really enough for Tomlin to stay employed when its become increasingly clear that the Steelers aren't winning a Super Bowl with him again?
This feels especially true if Rodgers opts to not return in 2026. The Steelers' era of "hope a random quarterback can win if we surround him with talent on both sides of the ball" has likely ended. It's time for a rebuild, and Tomlin is not the coach you go through a rebuild with. Call it a mutual parting of ways rather than a firing if you want, but a first-round exit should spell the end of the Tomlin era, especially with a number of appealing candidates out there.