Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Houston Texans live updates for NFL wild-card playoff game

Pittsburgh punted on its first possession of the second half after the turnover from Houston. 

The Texans take over from their own 30-yard line with 5 minutes, 33 seconds left in the third quarter. Houston leads Pittsburgh 7-6. 

Quarterback C.J. Stroud was intercepted by Steelers defensive back Brandin Echols near the goal line, as Houston drove into the red zone. 

The interception, Stroud's third turnover of the game, came on a third-and-four play from the Steelers' 14-yard line. 

Pittsburgh takes over, trailing 7-6, with 10 minutes, 21 seconds left in the third quarter from its own 4-yard line.

Houston opened the second half from its own 25-yard line, leading Pittsburgh 7-6. 

Houston leads Pittsburgh 7-6 at halftime. 

The Texans punted the ball to the Steelers after trying to get points before halftime, and time expired as the ball rolled on the field. 

Quarterback C.J. Stroud has 118 yards passing and one passing score, while running backs Woody Marks and Nick Chubb have combined for 82 yards rushing on 15 carries. Houston has 198 yards of offense. 

Quarterback Aaron Rodgers has 79 yards passing, while running backs Jaylen Warren and Kenneth Gainwell have 24 yards rushing on eight carries. Pittsburgh has 94 yards of offense. 

Turnovers have kept Pittsburgh within arm's reach of Houston, which has two fumbles lost in the first 30 minutes of play. Stroud was also sacked twice. 

Kicker Chris Boswell has field goals of 32 and 35 yards for the Steelers, who are 0-of-6 on third down.

The paid attendance for Monday night's game is 67,297, according to Steelers PR.

Pittsburgh cut its deficit to 7-6 after a 35-yard field goal from kicker Chris Boswell with 1 minute, 57 seconds left in the second quarter.

The drive featured Pittsburgh converting a 4th-and-2 from Houston's 13-yard line, but it ended abruptly after a third-and-goal sack of quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Pittsburgh ran seven plays and gained four total yards after the turnover. 

Houston quarterback C.J. Stroud fumbled for the second time in the first half, setting Pittsburgh up 21 yards from the end zone with 6 minutes, 14 seconds left in the second quarter.

Stroud did not catch the snap cleanly, and Keeanu Benton knocked the ball out of his hand. T.J. Watt recovered the ball for Pittsburgh, which is looking to capitalize on the good field position. 

Pittsburgh went three-and-out again and punted the ball back to Houston, which leads 7-3. 

The Texans' drive will start at their own 19-yard line with 6 minutes, 57 seconds remaining in the second quarter. Running back Woody Marks has been cleared to return after being evaluated for a concussion. 

Houston leads 7-3 after a 6-yard completion from quarterback C.J. Stroud to wide receiver Christian Kirk with 8 minutes, 28 seconds left in the second quarter. 

The 14-play, 92-yard drive took 7 minutes off the clock. The Texans ran the ball seven times for 55 yards on the drive. 

After starting its drive from its own 9-yard line, Houston has moved the ball into the red zone after a 20-yard run from running back Woody Marks. 

Houston has relied on the run game during the drive.

The Steelers lead 3-0 after 15 minutes of play. The game's lone points so far came after a field goal from Pittsburgh kicker Chris Boswell.

After forcing a turnover, Pittsburgh went three-and-out and punted the ball back to the Texans. 

Houston, trailing 3-0, takes over from its own 9-yard line with 29 seconds remaining in the first quarter. 

Houston quarterback C.J. Stroud fumbled the ball during an attempted flea-flicker on Pittsburgh's side of the field. 

After receiving the pitch from running back Woody Marks, Stroud was stripped by rookie linebacker Jack Sawyer as he climbed the pocket. Yahya Black recovered the ball. 

The Steelers take over at their own 44-yard line, leading 3-0 with 2 minutes, 2 seconds left in the first quarter. 

Pittsburgh leads Houston 3-0 after a 32-yard field goal from Chris Boswell with 6 minutes, 2 seconds left in the first quarter. 

The seven-play, 58-yard drive was highlighted by a 25-yard completion from quarterback Aaron Rodgers to wide receiver DK Metcalf to get Pittsburgh into Houston territory.

Houston punted on its first possession of the game, also. The Texans flipped the field with a 36-yard completion on third down from quarterback C.J. Stroud to wide receiver Christian Kirk, but their drive halted at midfield. 

Pittsburgh takes over on its 28-yard line with 8 minutes, 54 seconds left in the first quarter of a scoreless game. 

The Steelers punted on their first possession of the game. Pittsburgh picked up two first downs, but its drive stalled at midfield. 

The Texans will start their first drive of the game from their own 10-yard line with 11 minutes, 57 seconds remaining in the first quarter. 

The Steelers will receive the opening kickoff. So far this postseason, teams that receive the opening kick are 2-3. 

The Texans, who won the opening coin toss, will start with the ball in the second half. 

Before the game started, Norelle Simpson sang the national anthem. 

Running back Kaleb Johnson, wide receiver Roman Wilson, quarterback Will Howard, offensive lineman Jack Driscoll, defensive lineman Logan Lee, outside linebacker Jeremiah Moon and cornerback Tre Flowers are inactive for the Steelers.

Wide receiver Braxton Berrios, quarterback Graham Mertz, offensive lineman Juice Scruggs, running back Jawhar Jordan, linebacker Christian Harris and cornerback Alijah Huzzie are inactive for the Texans.

Steelers wide receiver DK Metcalf will return to the field on Monday following a two-game suspension for an altercation with a fan during the team's Week 16 game against the Detroit Lions. Metcalf appealed the suspension, but it was upheld on appeal.

Metcalf, who Pittsburgh acquired in a trade with the Seattle Seahawks, caught 59 passes for 850 yards and six touchdowns in 15 regular-season games. Both marks led the team. 

The Steelers were 1-1 without Metcalf in the lineup. 

"My teammates gave me another opportunity to come back," Metcalf told the media last week. "So just big shout out to them."

The Steelers have won 23 consecutive home "Monday Night Football" games, a streak they will put on the line against the Texans.

The last time the Steelers lost a "Monday Night Football" game was during the 1991 season when they fell 23-20 to the New York Giants at Three Rivers Stadium. 

Pittsburgh extended its streak to 23 games this season with a win over the Miami Dolphins in Week 15. 

Pittsburgh brought in quarterback Aaron Rodgers to help end its playoff win drought, and the 42-year-old quarterback will be front and center for Monday's game against the Texans.

Rodgers hit multiple clutch throws in the fourth quarter of the team's dramatic win over the Ravens in the final game of the regular season, bringing home Pittsburgh's first AFC North title since 2000. 

While Rodgers has connected on key throws this season, the running back duo of Kenny Gainwell and Jaylen Warren has been offensive catalysts. The two combined for 2,314 total yards and 16 touchdowns during the regular season. Gainwell led the team with 73 receptions, while Warren was 42 yards rushing short of reaching 1,000 on the ground. Gainwell was selected as the team's MVP.

While not one of the league's best defenses, Pittsburgh has been opportunistic on that side of the ball. Pittsburgh forced 12 turnovers in the regular season and had 48 sacks. 

Pittsburgh is in the postseason for a third straight season after winning four of its last five games. 

Houston is back in the playoffs after its best defensive season in franchise history. 

The hard-hitting defense is led by stars Will Anderson Jr., Danielle Hunter and Derek Stingley. The Texans held teams to 17.4 points per game, second best in the NFL, and a league-best 277.2 yards per game. The unit also forced 17 turnovers, the second-best mark in the NFL.

The consistency of the defense helped buoy an offense plagued with injuries at key positions. Quarterback C.J. Stroud missed four games due to a concussion, and running back Joe Mixon and wide receiver Tank Dell have not played this season due to injuries. 

However, the Texans had star wide receiver Nico Collins for 15 games in 2025 after injuries limited his 2024 season. The 6-foot-4, 220-pound pass catcher had 71 receptions for 1,117 yards and six touchdowns this season. 

Kicker Ka'imi Fairbairn has also been a weapon for Houston. The 31-year-old made 44 field goals, tying David Akers' 2011 mark for the most field goals made in a season in the history of the NFL. 

Houston, which is 5-3 on the road this season, is in the postseason for a third straight season under coach DeMeco Ryans after finishing second in the AFC South. The Texans started the season 0-3. 

Acrisure Stadium follows the clear bag policy from the NFL, which means that unless bags are 4.5 inches by 6.5 inches or smaller, they must be clear.

According to the stadium's website, fans must bring clear bags that aren't larger than 12 inches by 6 inches by 12 inches.  

The Steelers are 3-point home underdogs against the Texans, according to CBS Sports. Pete Prisco of CBS Sports picked the Steelers to beat the Texans 23-20. The winner will play at the New England Patriots in the next round.  

Pittsburgh is +4500 to win the Super Bowl, the second-longest odds of the 14 teams in the postseason. Houston is +1300, the eighth-best odds. 

The Steelers' game against the Texans in the wild-card round of the NFL playoffs will air live on ESPN and ABC. Kick off is set for 8:15 p.m. ET at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh. 

Joe Buck will provide the play-by-play call of the game, while Troy Aikman will serve as the analyst. Lisa Salters and Laura Rutledge will be the sideline reporters.

The Monday night showdown will be the final game of the wild-card round. 

After the Steelers' dramatic win over the Ravens to end the 2025 regular season, 14 teams qualified for the playoffs: seven in the AFC and seven in the NFC.

The playoffs kicked off on Saturday with two games, with three more on Sunday. Here's how the four other AFC teams fared on wild-card weekend. 

• No. 1 Denver Broncos are on bye
• No. 2 New England Patriots 16, No. 7 Los Angeles Chargers 3
• No. 6 Buffalo Bills 27, No. 3 Jacksonville Jaguars 24