PITTSBURGH (AP) — Mike Tomlin and the Pittsburgh Steelers found themselves in a familiar spot.
Monday night's wild-card playoff game against Houston was close through three quarters, but Sheldon Rankins’ 33-yard fumble return for a touchdown allowed the Texans and their top-ranked defense to break it open and beat the Steelers 30-6.
“Certainly a disappointing end to our season,” Tomlin said. “We’ve got to give Houston a lot of credit, in particular
their defensive unit. I thought they ruled the day.”
Tomlin and the Steelers lost their seventh straight playoff game. It’s the longest active postseason losing streak in the league, and Tomlin matched Marvin Lewis of the Bengals for the longest playoff skid by an NFL coach.
The Steelers haven’t won a playoff game since beating Kansas City in the 2016 divisional round, and whether Tomlin will be back for a 20th season in Pittsburgh is once again an open question — one that Tomlin declined to address in the aftermath of the loss.
“I’m not in the big-picture perspective,” Tomlin said. “I’m just not in that mindset. I don’t think about the totality of it. You pour everything that you have into these performances and what goes on tonight.”
Pittsburgh lost a scheduled Monday night home game for the first time since Oct. 14, 1991, to the New York Giants. The Steelers were unbeaten in their past 23 such games.
Aaron Rodgers threw for 146 yards and the Steelers were limited to 175 yards of total offense. Calen Bullock scored Houston’s second defensive touchdown of the fourth quarter with a 50-yard pick-6 on what may have been the final throw of Rodgers’ 21-year career. The four-time MVP plans to take time before deciding whether to return for another season.
“I’m not going to make any emotional decisions,” Rodgers said. “I’m disappointed. It was such a fun year. Obviously, a lot of adversity, but a lot of fun.”
The Steelers forced Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud into a number of mistakes throughout the first three quarters. Stroud fumbled five times — he lost two of them — and threw an interception, but the Steelers couldn't manage a single touchdown.
Houston led 10-6 when Will Anderson Jr. sacked Rodgers, and Rankins picked up the ball and returned it to the end zone.
“I didn’t feel like we ever got the momentum on our side, honestly,” Rodgers said. “We had a lot of chances. Defense played really good in the first half. (Houston) has a good defense. But we had a lot of opportunities.”
A week earlier, Rodgers threw for a season-high 294 yards and the Steelers rallied in the fourth quarter to defeat the Baltimore Ravens and win their eighth AFC North title under Tomlin.
On Monday night, the home crowd booed Tomlin and the Steelers off the field, and chants for his firing could be heard in the final minutes.
“I don’t really care about that noise because they don’t know what (Tomlin) puts into this,” veteran defensive lineman Cam Heyward said. “They don’t know how he goes out of his way to prepare every man. They don’t know about the countless nights he is in there studying film. Coaches can only do so much. Players have to play better and in those critical moments, they have to step up.”
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