Steelers vs. Texans: What they're saying in Houston after win
Oct. 2—For a team predicted to finish last in the AFC South, the Houston Texans appear to be riding high after thrashing the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday afternoon.
The 30-6 win in Texas had Chron.com sports writer Josh Criswell wondering if the Texans could be playoff contenders.
"Such a statement would get you laughed out of a room — perhaps even off the face of the earth — at any point over the past few years, and as recently as a couple weeks ago," he wrote. "But after back-to-back dominant wins over the Pittsburgh Steelers and Jacksonville Jaguars, this sentiment suddenly doesn't seem so silly."
The Texans topped the Steelers both on offense and defense — the Steelers were down by 16 points going into the second half and the Texans rushed for 139 yards, impressive for a team that averaged the NFL-worst 2.8 yards per carry coming into the game. Quarterback C.J. Stroud was not sacked and threw for 306 yards and two touchdowns.
The Steelers could only manage a pair of field goals in the second half.
The win was the Texans' first at home since December 2021, according to Will Kunkel, sports director at Fox 26 Houston. Stroud's performance thus far put him in the record books for second-most yards in four starts as a rookie quarterback, ESPN's DJ Bien-Aime wrote.
His teammates had a lot of praise after Sunday's game for the quarterback who was selected second overall in the draft.
"(Stroud) keeps finding ways to get better and finding ways to take over the team in that leadership role, which is hard to do as a young guy," running back Devin Singletary told ESPN. "So long as he keeps stepping up, we're in good hands."
He had a message to fans after the game, too, encouraging them to feel proud to wear Texans gear and have the same swagger after big wins as the players, especially after nearly two years of the team failing to win at home, according to a report from Associated Press reporter Kristie Rieken.
"Y'all deserve to feel special," Stroud said after the game. "Y'all deserve to root the Texans on."
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Related:
—5 things we learned: Might be time for Steelers to give Mitch Trubisky a start at quarterback
—Airing of Grievances: Baffling offensive decisions, lousy defense lead to Steelers' horror show in Houston
—Madden Monday: Kenny Pickett is 'awful ... if Mitch (Trubisky) plays next week, that's an upgrade'
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Many sportswriters focused on what Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin had to say after the abysmal performance: "We've got to make some changes. That was an ugly product we put out there today."
But what actually happens with the team leading up to a match with the Baltimore Ravens remains to be seen.
Renatta Signorini is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Renatta by email at rsignorini@triblive.com or via Twitter .
