After sneaking into the postseason, the Pittsburgh Steelers are one game away from snapping a winless playoff drought that began nearly nine years ago. The last time Mike Tomlin's team won a playoff game came against Alex Smith and the Kansas City Chiefs on January 15, 2017, following an 11-5 record in the 2016 NFL season.
Unfortunately, the Steelers will have their work cut out for them in the Wild Card round.
On Monday night, Pittsburgh will host the Houston Texans at Acrisure Stadium. Not only did the Texans finish the season with a 12-5 record, but they are currently on a nine-game winning streak and are itching for their 10th straight victory in hopes of making a Super Bowl run.
When it comes to the Texans' offense, the Steelers could have gotten tougher matchups. Mike Tomlin was able to avoid Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen in the Wild Card round. But the matchup they got with the Texans' defense could be equally as daunting.
The Pittsburgh Steelers must contain the league's best edge rusher duo in the Wild Card round
There are some dominant pass rush units in the NFL, and Myles Garrett's 2025 showing takes the cake among individual performances. However, the Texans' lethal combination of Will Anderson Jr. and Danielle Hunter was the best edge rusher duo in the business this season.
Anderson and Hunter ranked among the top-five edge rushers in pressure in 2025—combining for a whopping 176 pressures on the season, per Pro Football Focus. This equates to more than 10 pressures per game. Likewise, Anderson and Hunter each finished inside the top five in true pass set pressures, and this dynamic duo combined to record 27 sacks on the season.
As a result of their dominance, Hunter and Anderson earned top-five PFF grades on the season, and Anderson's 92.3 overall grade fell just short of Myles Garrett's (92.7).
The dominance of Houston's pass rush duo caused a ripple effect on the defense. Not only did the Texans finish with the second-ranked defense both in terms of points allowed and yards allowed (metrics that were first in the league before resting players in Week 18 against the Colts), but Houston's defense also finished second in DVOA and EPA per play, next to only the Seattle Seahawks.
Containing these two edge rushers is going to be as difficult as it sounds.
The Steelers are down to their fourth option at left tackle, and while Dylan Cook has done an exceptional job in a pinch, he will have his hands full on Monday night with Hunter. Meanwhile, on the opposite side of the offensive line, second-year offensive tackle Troy Fautanu will be tasked with containing Anderson (who can win in a variety of ways).
There are only so many ways the Steelers can slide protection on any given play. What makes this all the more challenging is that Darnell Washington—a tight end who often acts as a third offensive tackle—is out for the season with a broken arm.
The Steelers simply don't have the personnel to put a helmet on a helmet and match up with the Texans' pass rushers without significant help.
The cherry on top is that Aaron Rodgers already has the quickest time to throw (2.46 seconds) of any quarterback in the NFL with at least 250 snaps this season, per SumerSports. Rodgers ranks 37th in this department, and getting the ball out of his hands quickly has made for a low-upside offense in most games the Steelers played in 2025.
Like the Browns game in Week 17, which included a disastrous showing by the Steelers' offense, Rodgers may have to get rid of the ball even quicker against the Texans on MNF.
Moving the football up and down the field is going to be a challenge for the Steelers, and the league's most dangerous pass rush duo stands in the way of Pittsburgh's snapping its winless playoff drought. How Mike Tomlin handles this matchup is the number one thing to keep an eye on during this MNF Wild Card game.