PITTSBURGH – Inside the Texans’ victorious locker room, defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins called a dominant victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers another step on the playoff ladder the team is climbing.
The Texans’ ultimate goal is much, much bigger. They have set their ambitions on making and winning a Super Bowl.
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A 30-6 beating of the Steelers sends the fifth-seeded Texans to the AFC divisional round where they’ll square off against the second-seeded New England Patriots on Sunday at 2 p.m. Central.
“We’re here for it all,” Rankins told KPRC 2 after returning a fumble for his second touchdown of the season. “I won’t sugarcoat it, won’t dance around the topic or whatever. We’re here for the whole thing.
“So, this is just a stepping stone to get where we want to go. But you can’t get to where you want to go without handling this one. Just proud of as a whole, as a defense, as a team, for playing four really good quarters of football.”
The game, which will send the winner to the AFC championship game, will be broadcast on ESPN and ABC. The Patriots, coached by former Texans assistant coach Mike Vrabel and led by MVP candidate quarterback Drake Maye, have been installed as a three-point favorite.
The Texans are the only team in the AFC to never reach the championship game level. This marks their seventh trip to the divisional round, going 0-6 previously.
That includes divisional round losses to the Kansas City Chiefs and Baltimore Ravens the past two seasons.
Texans defensive end Will Anderson Jr. reflected on being one step away from unprecedented trip to the AFC championship game.
“We have a saying, man, ‘Round Two is not good enough,’” Anderson said. “We’ve got to past the hump. And this really is going to take everybody dialed in, locked in.”
The Patriots defeated the Los Angeles Chargers during the wild-card round, relying on their defense and running game as Maye didn’t play to his usual level.
The Texans beat the Patriots, 41-21, last season when Maye was a rookie as he passed for three touchdowns and two interceptions. Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud had three touchdowns and one interception in that game at Gillette Stadium.
The Texans lost to the Patriots in the playoffs during the 2012 and 2016 seasons on teams coached by Bill Belichick and quarterbacked by Tom Brady.
Now, it’s on to New England for the Texans. A team defined by its top-ranked defense, the Texans are on an NFL-leading 10-game winning streak.
Should the Texans beat the Patriots and the Buffalo Bills defeat the Denver Broncos in the divisional round, the AFC championship game would be played at NRG Stadium.
“Every place is difficult in the playoffs,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said. “This was a really cool environment. I’m proud of our guys for focusing on what really matters. It’s not the environment.
“It’s about executing and playing good football. No matter where you play, no matter when you play, you go out and execute play well, you can win football games.”
Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com