Texans have a chance to break two bizarre streaks

Juan Pereira Casanoba

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Texans have a chance to break two bizarre streaks image

Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

The Houston Texans are in a prime position to advance past the NFL Wild Card round and beat the Pittsburgh Steelers. However, although the odds may be in their favor when it comes to quality of personnel, they’ll have to break away from their norm to get a positive result.

The Texans have a history of defeat in the playoffs away from Houston

The Texans own one of the best defensive units in football, and their offense has the ability to do special things, although they’ve been inconsistent for large stretches of the year. The Steelers are no slouches, and Aaron Rodgers has delivered a good season despite being past his prime. According to ESPN, Rodgers was 13th among all quarterbacks in passing touchdowns with 24 and tied for 12th in interceptions with seven to his name this season. Stroud had 19 passing touchdowns and eight interceptions, but his season QBR was 11th among all QBs. Stroud also played fewer games than his Pittsburgh counterpart due to injury.

The Texans have never beaten a team away from home in the playoffs; that trend was revalidated when Houston lost to the Kansas City Chiefs last year in the postseason. The Steelers have also been strikingly dominant in Monday Night Football matchups at home. They haven’t lost this type of game since 1992. Is that fact statistically relevant? Not really, but it is something to keep an eye on. A win here for Houston would change the dynamic that has been present for the team’s entire postseason history, and maybe that’s what they need if they want to make it farther than they ever have in the postseason.

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Staff Writer