Monday’s “First Call” looks at the Pittsburgh Steelers’ first-round playoff opponent. One former Steelers quarterback was outstanding Sunday, while two others ended up getting benched.
And an AFC North coach is upset about the moments after Myles Garrett got his NFL sack record.
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We have a problem. It’s Houston
The Houston Texans will be the top Wild Card team in the AFC playoffs. That means they’ll be traveling to Pittsburgh to play the Steelers as a result of Sunday night’s AFC North de facto championship game result.
Prior to the Steelers’ 26-24 win over the Ravens, Houston claimed a 38-30 victory over the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday afternoon. The Texans got a field goal and a Tommy Togiai fumble recovery for a touchdown over the final 12 seconds to complete a fourth-quarter comeback.
TOMMY TOGIAI GETS HIS TOUCHDOWN ON A WILD LAST PLAY. pic.twitter.com/yD6LxxuYsf
— NFL (@NFL) January 4, 2026
The Texans were up 23-17 at halftime, but rested the likes of quarterback C.J. Stroud, defensive stars Will Anderson Jr., Danielle Hunter, Derek Stingley and several other starters over the last 30 minutes. It became clear after the first two quarters that their hopes of an AFC South crown were out of reach when Jacksonville went to halftime up 31-7 over Tennessee.
The Jaguars won the division at 13-4. Houston qualified as the No. 5 seed at 12-5. This is the franchise’s third straight playoff appearance. They won a first-round game as division champs each of the past two seasons.
In terms of yards per game, Houston’s defense is No. 1 in the NFL at 277.2 per contest. When it comes to points per game allowed, the Texans yield just 17.4, second only behind the Seattle Seahawks (17.2).
According to BetRivers, Houston is an early three-point favorite.
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Out on an unhappy note
The Cincinnati Bengals lost their regular-season finale to the Cleveland Browns, 20-18. Along the way, Cleveland’s Myles Garrett set the single-season sack record with his 23rd of 2025.
MYLES GARRETT IS THE NEW SACK RECORD KING.
CLEvsCIN on CBS/Paramount https://t.co/HkKw7uXVntpic.twitter.com/Jaa4aBGrIl
— NFL (@NFL) January 4, 2026
After the game, Bengals coach Zac Taylor was unhappy with the officials for stopping the game to let Garrett celebrate the occasion.
That total surpasses the previous record of 22.5 held by Michael Strahan and Steelers OLB T.J. Watt.
“There’s five minutes left in our season,” Taylor said. “We’re playing for our lives here. I was never told that we’re going to stop the game. In a critical moment like that, the refs just said that they made a decision that they were going to stop the game. They said they tried to do it as quickly as possible. I didn’t feel that.”
Zac Taylor was upset about the officials holding the ball after Myles Garrett recorded his record breaking sack.
“There was five minutes left in our season, we are playing for our lives here. I was never told that we’re going to stop the game.”#Bengals#Brownspic.twitter.com/489V4DrQ0O
— Chatterbox Sports (@CBoxSports) January 4, 2026
The Bengals were down 17-12 with just over five minutes remaining when Garrett sacked Joe Burrow to collect the record. The Browns were celebrating with Garrett as the Bengals tried to run a hurry-up offense.
“We didn’t sub,” Taylor said via ProFootballTalk.com. “We’re trying to get on the ball and play with tempo. The umpire just held the ball, so that we couldn’t do anything. … They just said that they made a decision as a crew to stop the game when that happened. I guess it didn’t matter when it happened.”
The Bengals (6-11) ended up punting on that drive, but scoring on their next possession to take an 18-17 fourth-quarter lead.
However, Cleveland (5-12) kicked a walk-off field goal to end the game with a 20-18 comeback victory.
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More sports
• T.J. Watt ‘felt so comfortable,’ intercepts Ravens in return from partially collapsed lung
• Feats of Strength: Aaron Rodgers’ response drives, early defensive stands clinch AFC North for Steelers over Baltimore
• ‘It’s nice to be back in this position’: Aaron Rodgers grateful to make playoff run with Steelers
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Ex-Steelers’ showdown
The Las Vegas Raiders edged the Kansas City Chiefs, 14-12, in a forgettable AFC West finale between two non-playoff teams.
The contest featured two former Steelers starting quarterbacks. However, neither one finished the game on the field.
Kenny Pickett started the game for Las Vegas. As previously planned, he went to the bench after a first quarter that included two sacks, two drives that ended in punts, a 1 for 3 effort from the pocket and an interception.
Kenny Pickett is picked off by Chamarri Conner!
KCvsLV on CBS/Paramount https://t.co/HkKw7uXVntpic.twitter.com/YLeJf2v2eR
— NFL (@NFL) January 4, 2026
Aidan O’Connell came in and wasn’t much better, going 10 of 22 for 102 yards, no touchdowns and one sack.
Meanwhile, former Steeler Chris Oladokun started a second straight game for the Chiefs. This one went about as marginal as the first. Oladokun was 11 of 17 for just 3.4 yards per attempt. He was sacked three times and eventually gave way to Shane Buchele.
The son of former Pirate Steve Buchele came in and was 7 of 14 for 88 yards. He was sacked five times, including once for a safety.
Tyree Wilson gets home for the SAFETY!
KCvsLV on CBS/Paramount https://t.co/HkKw7uXVntpic.twitter.com/xiP8EBh1Al
— NFL (@NFL) January 5, 2026
The Raiders got to 14 points thanks to that safety and four field goals. Kansas City kicked four field goals as well. No touchdowns were scored in the game.
In what could be his final game, tight end Travis Kelce caught three passes for 12 yards. He surpassed 13,000 yards (13,002) for his career. That puts Kelce 23rd in NFL history.
Jason Witten (13,046) and Tony Gonzales (15,127) are the only other tight ends to break the 13,000-yard mark.
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Wait! There’s more!
Those weren’t the only two former Steelers to throw passes Sunday.
Mitch Trubisky started Week 18’s contest for the Buffalo Bills (12-5). The club elected to sit Josh Allen against the New York Jets (3-14).
Trubisky was excellent, going 22 of 29 for 259 yards and four touchdown passes. That was good for a 142.1 quarterback rating as Buffalo walloped the Jets, 35-8.
Mitchell Trubisky finds Dawson Knox for 6!
NYJvsBUF on CBS/Paramount https://t.co/HkKw7uXVntpic.twitter.com/n5ebFel3VA
— NFL (@NFL) January 4, 2026
The Bills are the sixth seed in the AFC playoffs. They’ll visit Jacksonville in the first round of the playoffs.
Also, former Steelers receiver Gunner Olszewski tried his second trick pass of the season on a throw to Chris Manhertz that went incomplete. He connected on a TD to Jameis Winston earlier in the season.
That said, Olszewski had eight catches for 102 yards on the day as New York beat the Dallas Cowboys, 34-17.