Divisional: Pittsburgh Steelers at Houston Texans
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On the heels of their impressive win in Oakland, the Steelers have to be pleased to see Houston.
For one, the shot at some defensive redemption from that loss in Week 4 is a bonus: allowing 180 yards rushing is just something a Pittsburgh defense doesn't do.
But more importantly, the Texans franchise has literally zero playoff experience and the players on the roster have little more to speak of. In terms of pure playoff experience, the Texans are the lesser of a few evils: the Patriots and Ravens just have so much more postseason readiness.
Meanwhile, on the other sideline, the Texans just seem like a textbook case of a first-seed who cruised to the top of the conference largely on the strength of an easier schedule and a poor division.
Down the stretch, the loss of Matt Schaub won't be nearly as much of an issue vs. teams like Carolina, Jacksonville, Tennessee and Indianapolis. Against Pittsburgh, however, that's a different issue.
The Steelers run defense will be much better equipped to contain Arian Foster and/or Ben Tate, and the Texans' ailing passing game won't be able to catch up.
Prediction:
Steelers 27, Texans 14