The Pittsburgh Steelers will host the Houston Texans in the Wild Card round of the 2025 NFL playoffs on Monday night, looking to snap a six-game playoff losing streak that dates back to the 2016 season.
Winning would mean an awful lot to a franchise that hasn’t done much of it in the postseason recently, but what would would it mean in terms of the next week?
There are three several scenarios for the Steelers in terms of round two opponents, should they beat the Texans.
Of the other six teams in the AFC playoffs, the Steelers can potentially face five of them in the second round. Here are the meaningful scenarios:
Both higher seeds win — Steelers at Broncos
If the Jacksonville Jaguars and New England Patriots hold serve in their home games against the Buffalo Bills and Los Angeles Chargers, then the Steelers would travel to visit the No. 1-seeded Denver Broncos in the Divisional Round.
Bills & Patriots win — Steelers at Patriots
If the Bills win against the Jags — which would hardly be a surprise — and the Patriots win at home, then the Steelers would instead head to Foxborough, Mass. for the second time this season. The Steelers beat the Patriots in Week 3, 21-14.
Chargers & Jaguars win — Steelers at Jaguars
On the other hand, if it’s the Chargers upsetting the Patriots, while the Jaguars beat the Bills, the Steelers will travel to Jacksonville to face the Jaguars in the second round. The Steelers played a preseason game in Jacksonville this August and last faced the Jaguars in the regular season in 2023 — a 20-10 Jaguars win in Pittsburgh.
Both lower seeds win — Bills at Steelers
The only way the Steelers can get a home game in the second round also involves them playing the team that nobody wants to face in the AFC playoffs — Josh Allen and the Bills, who beat the Steelers 26-7 in Week 13.
2025 AFC PLAYOFF SCHEDULE
Sunday, Jan. 11
No. 6 Buffalo Bills at No. 3 Jacksonville Jaguars, 1 p.m., CBS
No. 7 Los Angeles Chargers at No. 2 New England Patriots, 8 p.m. NBC (WPXI)
Monday, Jan. 12
No. 5 Houston Texans at No. 4 Pittsburgh Steelers, 8:15 p.m., ESPN/ABC
Bye
No. 1 Denver Broncos
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: Playoff Scenarios: Who Will Steelers Face With Win over Texans?
