By WILL GRAVES AP Sports Writer
PITTSBURGH — Sheldon Rankins returned a fumble by Aaron Rodgers 33 yards for a touchdown early in the fourth quarter to highlight a dominant performance by the NFL’s top-ranked defense, and the Houston Texans beat the Pittsburgh Steelers, 30-6, on Monday night for the first road playoff win in franchise history.
The fifth-seeded Texans (13-5) advance to play at second-seeded New England (15-3) in an AFC divisional round game on Sunday.
C.J. Stroud turned it over three times but also threw a first-half touchdown pass to Christian Kirk, who had eight catches for 144 yards. Woody Marks had 112 yards rushing for Houston, which had been 0-6 on the road in the postseason before shutting down Rodgers and the Steelers (10-8).
Marks’ 13-yard touchdown run with 3:43 to go sealed it, and Calen Bullock added Houston’s second defensive score with a 50-yard interception return less than a minute later on Rodgers’ final throw of the game – and possibly his 21-year career.
Rodgers passed for just 146 yards as the Steelers were held to 175 yards of offense. The four-time league MVP has said he will take some time before deciding whether to return next fall.
While Rodgers’ play down the stretch was one of the reasons the Steelers won the AFC North, he struggled in much the same way his predecessors Russell Wilson and Mason Rudolph did as Pittsburgh lost its seventh consecutive playoff game and dropped a Monday night home game for the first time since 1991.
His Hall of Fame career might have ended on a forced downfield throw that Bullock stepped in front of. Rodgers tried and failed to tackle Bullock on the way to the end zone.
The Steelers’ defense, long the biggest problem during a playoff victory drought that is nearing a decade, forced Stroud into numerous mistakes and kept Pittsburgh in the game until late.
The result, however, was the same as it has been for the Steelers and Coach Mike Tomlin since they fell to New England in the 2016 AFC championship game, with a long walk to the locker room and a longer-than-hoped-for offseason to figure out what went wrong.
Houston’s 10th straight win was hardly a thing of beauty, as a thrilling opening weekend of the playoffs ended with a rock fight between clubs trying to shed some ignominious playoff history.
The Texans survived the way they have much of the season, by letting the league’s best defense smother their opponent.
The Steelers failed to capitalize on the miscues from a jittery Stroud, who fumbled twice and threw a pick. Pittsburgh scored just three points off those turnovers.
Not even the return of wide receiver DK Metcalf from a two-game suspension for making contact with a fan in Detroit helped. Metcalf finished with two catches for 42 yards and had a critical drop that cost the Steelers a chance to extend a 3-0 lead.
The Texans gathered themselves after an iffy start and took a 7-6 lead when Stroud finished off a 16-play, 92-yard drive by flipping a pass to Kirk for a 4-yard touchdown.
Stroud let a chance to extend the lead get away early in the second half when he was intercepted deep in Pittsburgh territory.
The Steelers’ offense again did nothing with the opportunity.
Ka’imi Fairbairn’s 51-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter pushed Houston’s lead to 10-6. Will Anderson sacked Rodgers on Pittsburgh’s ensuing possession, the ball popped loose and Rankins alertly scooped it up and raced to the end zone to put the Texans ahead by 11.
Unlike a heart-stopping fourth-quarter rally against Baltimore that earned them their first AFC North title since 2020, this time there was no late-game magic from Rodgers and the Steelers.
Instead, Tomlin’s postseason losing streak hit seven, tying Marvin Lewis of the Cincinnati Bengals for the longest playoff skid by an NFL coach.
While the NFL’s longest-tenured coach is all but assured of returning for a 20th season if he wants – even if there were chants for his firing in the final moments – Pittsburgh heads into yet another offseason in search of a quarterback and answers to a playoff drought whose weight seems to grow by the year.
Houston, meanwhile, heads to New England as the hottest team in the NFL with a quarterback who will be eager for a chance at a reprieve and a defense that can keep a game close against any opponent.
INUURIES
Texans wide receivers Nico Collins and Justin Watson both went into the concussion protocol in the second half. Safety Jaylen Reed (forearm), who was activated off injured reserve early Monday, left in the first quarter with a knee injury.
More to come on this story.
UP NEXT
The Texans head to New England to face the Patriots for the first time this season.
The Steelers begin their offseason, including the NFL draft, which Pittsburgh is hosting in late April.
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