Texans Veteran Sends Confident Message Before Steelers Game

The Houston Texans will be getting some nice reinforcements on their offensive line back during their Wild Card matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers in right tackle Trent Brown, who was taken off the injury report after missing the last two regular season games with a knee/ankle injury, but is now ready to go for their attempt to try and claim the first road playoff game in franchise history.

Brown, the Texans' veteran tackle in his first year signed with the team, might not be 100% rolling into their road matchup in Pittsburgh, but regardless, he's feeling good enough to suit up for the postseason action— an opportunity he certainly wasn't willing to miss after the type of season Houston's fought through thus far.

“I’m playing,” Brown said of his status vs. the Steelers, via Aaron Wilson of KPRC2.

“At this point in the season, everybody is dealing with something. Regardless of what you got going on, if you can get out there with a little bit of pain or whatever, you make it shake. You know what I mean? It’s a game for warriors. You just gotta do some warrior s---.”

Trent Brown Confident in Texans' Chances vs. Steelers

Brown, since filling in on the Texans' offensive line at right tackle, has been a steady force on the outside of their offensive protection that has navigated towards a much better turnout throughout the season for C.J. Stroud from what they had put together in 2024.

Stroud's sack rate has decreased from 8.9% to 5.16%. He’s taken just one sack in the past four weeks of the regular season, and while Brown's been out of the mix dating back to Week 16 with his lingering injury issues, his steady presence on the right side of the line, when healthy for his seven games, has been a quality contributor in developing those strides.

Jan 4, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud (7) stands in the pocket against the Indianapolis Colts during the first half at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

So, after a season of steady improvement, and especially while riding the high of a nine-game win streak to cap off the year, it comes as no surprise that Brown and the Texans are feeling pretty confident about their chances to pull out a road win in Pittsburgh. However, that doesn't mean they'll be overlooking their competition one bit. They're focused on locking in and getting the job done as they have for the last nine weeks.

“I think we feel pretty confident, great week of preparation,” Brown said. “Everybody’s locked in. The game comes with its own ebbs and flows, so we just gotta do our best to stay even-keeled and attack the situations as they come. Their rush, it’s not just one guy, T.J. Watt, everybody knows T.J., but it’s a lot of guys. It’s high stakes."

"This is the challenge for us. Respect and credit to those guys, it’s pretty much an All-Pro defense, from top to bottom. Let’s call a spade a spade.”

Between the defensive prowess that a Defensive Player of the Year like T.J. Watt brings alongside other stout pass rushers like Alex Highsmith, Nick Herbig, and Keaanu Benton––who each have at least five individual sacks throughout this season––there's a lot of talent for this Texans offensive line to stay on high alert from start to finish of the contest.

Time will tell if this reworked offensive line will have the chops to do so, but as this season's sample size has routinely shown, this unit is more than capable.

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