Texans Owner Cal McNair Has Clear Mentality for Steelers Game

The Houston Texans have a third consecutive Wild Card appearance on the horizon as they take the road to face the Pittsburgh Steelers in front of the Monday Night Football lights––a task that, while they may enter as the road favorites leading up to kickoff, won't be a walk in the park to put together a winning effort in such an environment and the stakes now raised to another level.

However, heading into the contest for what could become the Texans tenth win in a row dating back to Week 10 of the regular season, their owner Cal McNair is feeling both confident and focused on claiming that playoff victory in Pittsburgh.

“We’re not going up to make friends, we’re going up to win a game,” McNair told theHouston Chronicle's Jonathan M. Alexander. “And we’ll see what happens.”

McNair's wife, Hannah McNair, also made it clear just how highly their upcoming primetime matchup is viewed inside the building.

“They’re hungry. They want it bad,” McNair said.

If able to claim a victory in the Steel City, that would make for the Texans' third-straight Wild Card win since DeMeco Ryans has been hired onboard as the head coach, while also being the first-ever road playoff win in franchise history.

Texans Eyeing Third Playoff Win of DeMeco Ryans Era vs. Steelers

The last time the Texans went up against the Steelers, it came at the very beginning of Ryan’s tenure as head coach in year one, as Houston rallied behind C.J. Stroud's 306 passing yards and two touchdowns for a dominant 30-6 victory in NRG Stadium, making for a good start to the all-time series between Ryan and the one and only Mike Tomlin.

Now tasked against one another on opposite sidelines for the second time of their head coaching careers, both sides will be looking a bit differently in terms of their personnel, and of course, the stakes are wildly heightened in a game that will decide how one team's 2025 campaign ultimately ends.

Dec 27, 2025; Inglewood, California, USA; Houston Texans owner Cal McNair hugs quarterback C.J. Stroud (7) following a game against the Los Angeles Chargers at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

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McNair has good reason to have confidence within his team to get the job done, too, and that success starts on the defensive side of the ball; the heartbeat of what's made the Texans so dangerous on a week-to-week basis.

Behind their three All-Pros in Will Anderson, Danielle Hunter, and Derek Stingley Jr., the Texans' defensive unit has consistently remained atop the league's most important defensive metrics, being the catalyst behind their NFL-high nine wins in a row rolling into the postseason, and having a top-two scoring defense and the best defense for yards allowed per game to show for it.

Especially if able to get things clicking offensively under the lead of C.J. Stroud and Nico Collins, Houston has a real chance to play spoiler on the road, even in a tough environment like primetime in Pittsburgh presents. It's an opportunity that Texans owner Cal McNair clearly looks forward to taking on, and will be ready to see his guys put it all together to keep their inspiring run from this season going for at least another week.

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