For the first time since he joined the team, Kyle Dugger did not start a game he played for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Chuck Clark instead was at strong safety for the Steelers’ most of Monday night’s home wild-card playoff game against the Houston Texans.
A safety acquired via an Oct. 30 trade, Dugger missed only two of the Steelers’ 532 defensive snaps over the first eight games he was active. (He missed the Dec. 7 game at the Baltimore Ravens because of a hand injury).
But Dugger was in coverage during the only touchdown of the game in a 13-6 loss at the Cleveland Browns in Week 17. Then in the regular-season finale last weekend he was repeatedly the closest man to the ball on a series of long passing plays by the Baltimore Ravens.
Veteran Chuck Clark took Dugger’s place late in that win, and he also started Monday’s playoff game at strong safety.
Dugger was on the field for the first snap of Houston’s third possession, however.
Pierre, Harrison start
Also of note as starters on defense Monday were cornerback James Pierre and inside linebacker Malik Harrison.
Neither was necessarily a huge surprise given that each started the regular-season finale the week prior. Still, it was notable that Harrison again was prioritized over Payton Wilson and Pierre was the choice over Asante Samuel Jr.
Wilson, as usual, came in on snaps in which passing plays were likely. And Samuel did replace Pierre to start the third Houston possession of the game. Like Clark, Pierre was back in the Steelers’ secondary for their ensuing defensive series.
Pierre joined rookie defensive tackle Derrick Harmon as Steelers defensive players who on Monday each made his first career playoff start.
On offense, tackles Dylan Cook, guard Mason McCormick, running back Jaylen Warren and receiver Ben Skowronek earned their respective first career playoff starts.
Rare early points
Chris Boswell’s 32-yard field goal 8 minutes and 58 seconds into the game accounted for the Steelers’ first points in the first quarter of a playoff game in almost eight years.
It was Jan. 15, 2017, when Boswell hit a pair of early field goals during what ended up a 18-16 win at the Kansas City Chiefs in the divisional round of the 2016 season playoffs.
The Steelers lost their next six playoff games, starting that next week in New England in the AFC championship game. They were outscored 73-0 over the first quarters of those six games.
Monday’s field goal ended a stretch of 102 minutes, 49 seconds of scoreless first-quarter play by the Steelers.
The Steelers led 3-0 after one quarter Monday. The only other game in which the Steelers scored first during the six-game postseason losing streak they carried into Sunday? A second-quarter T.J. Watt fumble return for a touchdown during a 2021 season wild-card game at the Chiefs. Kansas City scored the next 35 points in that game.