Steelers’ Mike Tomlin Shares High Praise For Texans Defense Ahead Of Playoff Game

Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin has high praise for the Houston Texans’ defense ahead of Monday’s Wild Card game.

The Steelers will host the Texans on Monday in an intriguing game, as Pittsburgh punched its ticket to the playoffs and won the AFC North with a Week 18 win against the Baltimore Ravens. Despite the Steelers being at home, Pittsburgh is a three-point underdog, and a large part is due to the Texans’ defense, which is led by Will Anderson and Danielle Hunter.

“Will Anderson and Hunter are simply the most dynamic edge rush tandem in the National Football League in 2025,” Tomlin said on Tuesday. “They got 27 sacks between them. I think it’s 12 for Anderson, 15 for Hunter. They’re a formidable group. You can talk about the things that you need to do schematically to minimize them and all that. It’s nothing that they haven’t seen.

“We better stay out of a bunch of one-dimensional passing circumstances, because if we’re in those circumstances, we’re going to be in trouble. That’s just the reality of it.”

The Texans finished the year as the No. 1 total defense (277.2 yards per game) and No. 2 scoring defense (17.4 points per game). Houston, meanwhile, had four players with at least four interceptions in 2025, which is the most since 2017.

“They got a top-flight corner tandem on the outside, and so they rush very well,” Tomlin added about Houston’s defense. “They cover very well. They’re not trying to split the atom schematically. They don’t have to when you have corners and edge rushers like that.”

With how dominant the Texans’ defense has been, Tomlin knows the Steelers will have their hands full on Monday night. But the coach remains confident that Pittsburgh will be able to get a win.

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