The Houston Texans are set to enter the NFL postseason hotter than any of the other 13 teams also still in Super Bowl contention, having reeled of nine consecutive victories since dropping a close 18-15 game at home against the eventual No. 1 seed Denver Broncos back in early November.
But none of that matters now, as the playoff field is set. The road to Super Bowl LX for the Texans is set to begin at Acrisure Stadium this coming Monday night, as the No. 5 seed AFC South runners-up are set to visit the No. 4 seed Pittsburgh Steelers, champions of the AFC North, for their first ever road Wild Card game.
The Texans and Steelers have not met since the 2023 season, but Houston is more than battle tested, with eight of their 17 regular season contests coming against other teams that are a part of this year's playoff field.
How does Houston's success in games against playoff teams stack up against the rest of the league?
NFL playoff teams' records against other playoff teams
Team | Wins | Losses | Pct. |
|---|---|---|---|
Seattle Seahawks | 6 | 2 | 0.750 |
Denver Broncos | 4 | 2 | 0.667 |
Jacksonville Jaguars | 5 | 3 | 0.625 |
Chicago Bears | 3 | 2 | 0.600 |
Los Angeles Rams | 4 | 4 | 0.500 |
Houston Texans | 4 | 4 | 0.500 |
San Francisco 49ers | 4 | 4 | 0.500 |
Los Angeles Chargers | 3 | 3 | 0.500 |
Philadelphia Eagles | 3 | 3 | 0.500 |
Buffalo Bills | 3 | 3 | 0.500 |
New England Patriots | 2 | 2 | 0.500 |
Green Bay Packers | 2 | 4 | 0.333 |
Carolina Panthers | 2 | 5 | 0.286 |
Pittsburgh Steelers | 1 | 5 | 0.167 |
At 4-4 against other playoff teams, Houston is one of seven teams sitting at exactly .500. Only two other playoff teams won more regular season games against eventual playoff teams than Houston did.
Houston's wins came against the 49ers, Jaguars, Bills, and Chargers, while they lost to the Seahawks, Rams, Broncos, and Jaguars.
While their record places them right around the middle of the pack, they are set to take on the team with the outright worst record against playoff teams among that group this weekend. Pittsburgh's only win against a playoff team came against the Patriots, and that game was all the way back in Week 3. They lost to the Seahawks, Bears, Packers, Bills, and Chargers.
Let's dive a little bit deeper, though, because not all playoff teams are created equal, and have a look at where each team's strength of schedule (SOS) and strength of victory (SOV) rank when considering only their schedules against other playoff teams.
NFL playoff teams' Strength of Schedule against other playoff teams
Team | SOS | SOV |
|---|---|---|
Texans | 101-35 (0.743) | 48-20 (0.706) |
Panthers | 86.5-32.5 (0.727) | 21.5-12.5 (0.632) |
Chargers | 74-28 (0.725) | 35-16 (0.686) |
Rams | 96-40 (0.706) | 51-17 (0.750) |
49ers | 96-40 (0.706) | 45-23 (0.662) |
Steelers | 71.5-30.5 (0.701) | 14-3 (0.824) |
Jaguars | 95-41 (0.699) | 57-28 (0.671) |
Eagles | 69.5-32.5 (0.681) | 33.5-17.5 (0.657) |
Bills | 69-33 (0.676) | 32-19 (0.627) |
Seahawks | 91-45 (0.669) | 67-35 (0.657) |
Broncos | 67.5-34.5 (0.662) | 43.5-24.5 (0.640) |
Packers | 65-37 (0.637) | 21-13 (0.618) |
Patriots | 42-26 (0.618) | 20-14 (0.588) |
Bears | 52-33 (0.612) | 30.5-20.5 (0.598) |
There you have it: no NFL playoff team played a tougher schedule, factoring in exclusively other NFL playoff opponents, than the Houston Texans did throughout the 2025 regular season. And with a 4-4 record, they managed it well.
While their SOV ranks third, the first-place Steelers are a bit of an outlier here since their lone win over another playoff team came against the Patriots, which finished the regular season tied for the best record in the league (14-3) – and even that may be a bit misleading, since New England's SOS against other playoff teams is only 13th of 14, with their SOV an outright last among the group.
Realistically, from an SOV standpoint, you can argue that only the Rams were ahead of Texans, making Houston the top team in the AFC in both categories.
The Texans won each of their final three games against eventual playoff teams during the regular season. The one big concern fans might have is the fact that they went 0-3 in such games on the road, and a trip to Super Bowl LX will more than likely require multiple road wins. However, all three of those games were contested during their 2-4 start, and two of those games came during their 0-3 start.
Monday night's game is set to be shown live on ABC, ESPN, and ESPN2 beginning at 7:00 p.m. CT.