PITTSBURGH (AP) 鈥� has no interest in shucking the weight of the recent playoff failures onto the shoulders of his players heading into Monday night’s opening-round visit by .
鈥淚鈥檓 certainly not going to unpack my bags on the collective鈥檚 bed, if you will,鈥� said Tomlin, who will take a six-game postseason losing streak onto the Acrisure Stadium turf to face the streaking Texans.
The Steelers (10-7) seem intent on carrying it anyway, their future Hall of Fame quarterback perhaps most of all.
, in the late stages of his 21st and perhaps final season, is well-versed in how things work. He wasn’t immune to the noise that reached a hard-to-avoid level in late November when fans chanted for Tomlin’s firing near the end of a that left the Steelers at 6-6.
鈥淎 lot of you probably in this group, either publicly or privately, were talking about Mike T. getting axed,鈥� Rodgers said. 鈥淪o it feels good to shut all those comments down. It’s a clean slate now. Anybody can make a run.鈥�
That includes, Rodgers believes, his own erratic team. Pittsburgh responded from the messy end against the Bills by winning four of five to earn its first AFC North title in five years, the final win coming in a heart-stopper in that ended up his job.
Tomlin survived, as he has every year for nearly two decades. But he hasn’t won a playoff game since the 2016 season. With a misstep against the impressive Texans and the NFL’s top-ranked defense, the volume about Tomlin’s job status will no doubt be turned back up, even if the conversation is a non-starter internally for a coach whose next losing season will be his first.
鈥淭hey’ve got to find something to try and get after him,鈥� Rodgers said. 鈥淢ike T.鈥檚 probably like me, though. He doesn’t (care a whole lot) about any of those comments. (But) we all love him. We want to play for him. We want to win for him.鈥�
Tomlin and the Steelers aren’t the only ones who will bring some baggage to the final game of wild-card weekend. Houston (12-5) comes to Pittsburgh riding a nine-game winning streak but also still searching for its road playoff victory in the franchise’s 24-year history.
The Texans are 5-3 away from NRG Stadium this season, though just one of those wins came against a team that reached the playoffs. Coach DeMeco Ryans thinks his players have 鈥渉andled themselves pretty well on the road,鈥� though the energy and the stakes will be far higher against a Steelers team that hasn’t lost a Monday night home game since 1991.
Then again, considering the hole the Texans were in , in a way their postseason started two months ago.
鈥淥ur guys know how to win football games,鈥� Ryans said. 鈥淭hat doesn鈥檛 change because we鈥檙e in the playoffs. We鈥檝e been in that mode for a while now.鈥�
Steelers’ Metcalf returns from suspension
Steelers wide receiver DK Metcalf will be back in the lineup for Pittsburgh’s last two games of the regular season as punishment for making contact with a fan at Detroit on Dec. 21.
The Steelers flirted with giving away the AFC North in his absence, limping through a before rebounding in the second half against Baltimore on a night Rodgers finished with a season-high 294 yards passing, the final 26 coming on a toss to a wide-open Calvin Austin III for the go-ahead touchdown.
Metcalf, who took responsibility for his actions but declined to get into specifics, was so excited after Baltimore kicker Tyler Loop missed a 44-yard field goal as time expired that he hopped in his car and raced to Acrisure Stadium to join the celebration.
The two-time Pro Bowler, by far Pittsburgh’s most accomplished pass catcher, is thankful for the reprieve.
鈥淢y teammates gave me another opportunity to come back, so just big shoutout to them,鈥� said Metcalf, whose 850 yards receiving led the team but also marked a career low.
Kickin鈥� it with Ka鈥檌mi
Acrisure Stadium is one of the trickier places to kick in the NFL, as Loop found out last week when his potential game-winning kick sailed wide right on the final play.
The Texans aren’t worried about the conditions affecting Ka鈥檌mi Fairbairn, who made the Pro Bowl for the second time in his career after tying an NFL record by making 44 field goals during the regular season.
鈥淚 have all the faith in the world in Ka鈥檌mi no matter where we are,鈥� Ryans said.
Fairbairn could come up big this week for a team that has a habit of playing in tight games. Seven of Houston’s nine victories during their current winning streak have been decided by eight points or less.
鈥淚 tell our guys: 鈥榊ou take for granted when you have such a great kicker who is able to secure you points, even if things don鈥檛 go your way in the red zone,鈥欌�� Ryans said. 鈥淵ou want to score touchdowns every single drive, but it doesn鈥檛 happen. You get in range, and you got a sure-footed kicker who can make those points.鈥�
Texans bring fearsome duo of Anderson and Hunter
The key to Houston鈥檚 stellar defensive performance this season is clear to Ryans.
鈥淔or us and how we play defense all year, it鈥檚 really predicated on how we get after the passer,鈥� he said.
Leading that charge against Rodgers on Monday will be defensive ends Danielle Hunter and Will Anderson Jr., who have combined for 27 sacks.
Tomlin raved about the duo.
鈥淲ill Anderson and Hunter are simply the most dynamic edge rush tandem in the National Football League in 2025,鈥� he said.
And he knows what they鈥檒l have to avoid if they want to give the 42-year-old Rodgers time to operate.
鈥淲e better stay out of a bunch of one-dimensional passing circumstances, because if we鈥檙e in those circumstances we鈥檙e going to be in trouble,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 just the reality of it.鈥�
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AP Sports Writer Kristie Rieken in Houston contributed to this report.
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