It came down to a 44-yard missed field goal from Baltimore Ravens rookie kicker Tyler Loop on Sunday night, but for the first time in franchise history, the Houston Texans are set to square off against the Pittsburgh Steelers in the NFL playoffs.
The 12-5 Texans are in the playoffs for the ninth time, but for the first time ever, they are in as a Wild Card team, rather than as the AFC South champions. As such, they have never gone on the road in the Wild Card round, and because of the fact that they've never advanced past the Divisional Round, they have never actually won a road playoff game (0-6).
That will obviously need to change this coming Monday night at Acrisure Stadium, if what is considered by many to be the best team in Texans history is to make a deep postseason run. The Texans are set to enter the playoffs riding a nine-game winning streak that took their point differential to +109, the best in their 24-year history.
But they're also up against an incredible streak that dates all the way back to 1992: the Steelers are 23-0 in their 23 most recent Monday Night Football appearances.
Texans must end Steelers' impressive streak that dates back 34 years
The Steelers, who finished the regular season at 10-7, have not lost a home game on a Monday night since October 14, 1991, when the New York Giants beat them by a score of 23-20 at Three Rivers Stadium.
Their streak began on Monday, October 19, 1992, when they beat the Cincinnati Bengals by a score of 20-0. Since their current stadium, formerly known as Heinz Field, opened in 2001, they are 15-0 at home on Monday nights. Their 23-game win streak includes a 30-23 win over the Texans in 2014.
However, there are a few things to note about this streak. First of all, the Steelers have not actually won 23 straight home games on Monday, which kind of defeats the purpose of this streak.
Back in December 2020, COVID-19-related restrictions resulted in their home game against the Washington Football Team being played on a Monday. Washington won that game by a score of 23-17, but because it started at 5:00 p.m. ET and therefore was not late enough to be considered a "night" game (and there were no fans in attendance), it is conveniently excluded from this streak.
Let's also not neglect to mention that the Steelers have often been favored in home games on Monday night. According to StatMuse, in only two of the 23 games during that winning streak were they underdogs, and they have only been underdogs at home on Monday night once in 16 games dating back to 1999 (2023 against the Cleveland Browns).
They were 2-point underdogs against Cleveland in 2023, and they were 3-point underdogs against the Green Bay Packers back in 1998.
The Texans, for what it's worth, opened as 3.5-point favorites at DraftKings Sportsbook. It makes them the biggest road favorite in Pittsburgh on a Monday night since – you guessed it – the Giants in 1991.
No road team has ever been favored by this much at Acrisure Stadium heading into a Monday night game.
Of course, the games aren't played on paper, so the odds technically mean nothing. But quite frankly, neither does a 34-year streak of the Steelers beating up on lesser teams at home on Monday nights, all while their 2020 Monday loss is conveniently ignored for the purpose of preserving said streak.
The Texans and Steelers have not met since the 2023 regular season, when Pittsburgh traveled to Houston and got dismantled by a score of 30-6. Their most recent meeting in Pittsburgh took place in 2020, when the Steelers won by a score of 28-21.
The Steelers lead the all-time series between the two teams at 5-3, including a 3-1 mark at home. Houston's only win in Pittsburgh came in their inaugural NFL season back in 2002.