'Best defense' steals show in Texans' wild-card win

What’s Happening

Alright so The Texans’ defense came into the postseason viewed as one of the league’s best and showed why in their 30-6 wild-card win over Aaron Rodgers and the Steelers on Monday night.

Defense carries Texans past Steelers, into divisional round play Texans take care of business, beat Steelers 30-6 (1:21) The Texans take down the Steelers 30-6 to advance to the divisional round and set up a matchup with the Patriots. (1:21) DJ Bien-Aime Jan 13, 2026, 02:16 AM ET Close DJ Bien-Aime covers the Houston Texans for ESPN. (wild, right?)

He joined ESPN in July of 2022 after covering the New York Jets for the New York Daily News.

The Details

He’s a former athlete who finished his college career at Louisville. You can catch DJ on ESPN Radio on his show “Talkin’ Texans.

” Follow on X Email Print Open Extended Reactions PITTSBURGH — The Houston Texans ’ defense came into the postseason viewed as one of the league’s best and showed why in their 30-6 wild-card win over the Pittsburgh Steelers in potentially the last career game for Aaron Rodgers . The Texans held the Steelers’ offense to 175 yards Monday night while sacking the future Hall of Fame quarterback four times and forcing Rodgers into two turnovers for touchdowns.

Why This Matters

According to ESPN Research, Houston became the second team in playoff history to score multiple defensive touchdowns in a game without giving up a TD, joining Chicago , which achieved the feat in the 1940 NFL Championship against Washington . Editor’s Picks Texans dominate Steelers, Aaron Rodgers in wild-card matchup DJ Bien-Aime and Brooke Pryor Texans’ Collins carted off with concussion in win DJ Bien-Aime Rodgers backs Tomlin: ‘Absolute joke’ if on hot seat Brooke Pryor 2 Related Both turnovers fueled the blowout. Will Anderson ‘s strip sack of Rodgers forced a fumble that was recovered by Sheldon Rankins and returned for a touchdown to put the Texans up 17-6 in the fourth quarter.

The sports world never stops delivering these kinds of storylines.

Key Takeaways

• Then Rodgers’ last pass of the game was intercepted by safety Calen Bullock and returned for a touchdown.
• Rodgers was pulled for backup Mason Rudolph with the Steelers down 30-6.

The Bottom Line

Then Rodgers’ last pass of the game was intercepted by safety Calen Bullock and returned for a touchdown. Rodgers was pulled for backup Mason Rudolph with the Steelers down 30-6.

How do you feel about this development?