Ben Roethlisberger Details Why He Thinks Steelers Can Beat Texans in Wild-Card Game

Brigid Kennedy | 19 Hours Ago

Roethlisberger retired after the 2020 season. / Denny Medley-Imagn Images

The Steelers have a chance to end an upsetting streak of playoff losses on Monday night, when they'll host the Texans in a wild-card game at Acrisure Stadium. Pittsburgh hasn't won a playoff game since 2016, and a home contest after a thrilling win over the Ravens in Week 18 gives them perhaps their best chance at a postseason dub in years.

That said, this matchup won't be an easy one. The Texans finished the regular season with a 12–5 record—two wins over the Steelers—and boast one of the most formidable defenses in the league. So the offense will have to work overtime to make some gains against a unit that has allowed just 277.2 yards per game, a.k.a the least in the NFL as of this writing.

Thankfully, former franchise quarterback and Steelers legend Ben Roethlisberger thinks Pittsburgh can make it happen on Monday night.

"The reason that I'm leaning heavily toward the Steelers winning this game is because I trust our defense against their offense. They've got some players. C.J. Stroud is a good player, he's a good athlete, he can throw the ball," Roethlisberger said on his Footbahlin with Ben Roethlisberger podcast. "They've got Nico Collins. ... They've got some guys that can make you nervous. ... But I don't think it's enough firepower. I think our defense can get after it. Now, the [Pittsburgh] defense, they're not gonna be able to get by by not having a good day. The Texans aren't gonna roll over on 'em. But I like the matchup with our defense against their offense."

That said, the Super Bowl-winning quarterback is under no illusions that Steelers' offense won't have to work really hard in turn.

"[The Texans'] defense definitely makes me nervous," he admitted. "We're getting [D.K. Metcalf] back and we have Aaron Rodgers—I get all that. Do I think that we won't be able to do anything with it? No. I just think we're going to have to have a really good game on offense. And we can do it."

Listen to this comments starting around 37:08:

Fair enough, and definitely true. The Steelers have the weapons to outclass the Texans' defense, but only if they keep things tight and clean when passing and running the ball.

And if they do pull off the win, the real test—and challenge—could come the following round, when they could go up against the No. 1-seeded Broncos in the AFC divisional game. Gulp.

But hey, upsets happen. And they'll need to get through Houston before they can even begin to think about that.

The big game kicks off at 8:15 p.m. ET on Monday.

---

More NFL on Sports Illustrated

FREE NEWSLETTER. SI BTN Newsletter. Start off your day with SI:CYMI. dark

feed