Texans PFF grades: Top & Bottom offensive players in win vs. Steelers

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You know it's a dominant win when a defense outscores an opposing offense.

That became a reality on Monday night for the Houston Texans when facing off against the Pittsburgh Steelers inside the walls of Acrisure Stadium.

All-Pro defensive end Will Anderson Jr. stripped-sacked Aaron Rodgers, resulting ina 33-yard scoop-and-score from defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins as the Texans coasted their way in the fourth quarter for a 30-6 win over the Steelers in the final game of the wild-card round.

Defensive back Calen Bullock intercepted Rodgers on what could be his final pass of a historic 21-year career and returned it for a 50-yard pick-6 with two minutes remaining.

“Every time we go out there, we show (we're the best),” Bullock told reporters postgame. “We went out there and showed it today. I don't think they even scored a touchdown.”

With a win, the Texans (13-5) finally secure their first postseason road victory in franchise history. They now hit the road to take on the New England Patriots (15-3) in the divisional round on Sunday afternoon.

The Texans' defense outscored the Steelers 13-6 overall, but they nearly outscored the offense after a rocky first half from C.J. Stroud. The third-year passer turned it over three times but connected with Christian Kirk for an 8-yard touchdown pass to give Houston a four-point lead in the second quarter.

Kirk, who had been quiet for most of the regular season, stepped up big as the new No. 1 target on Monday night, totaling a season-high eight catches for 144 yards. Meanwhile, rookie running back Woody Marks secured his 100-yard outing behind a 112-yard performance, capped off with a 13-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter to make it 24-6 with just over three minutes left.

“I think he’s one of the best in the league,” Stroud said of Kirk's performance. “We’ve tried to find ways to get him the ball, but it wasn’t really working out.

Pro Football Focus handed out player grades for those who took a snap in Houston's win over the Steelers and we broke them down by offense and defense. Below are the five highest and lowest grades on the offensive side of the ball after a promising win, setting up another divisional round game for Houston in this regime.

There were a few surprises in terms of the highest- and lowest-graded players, both on offense and defense. In fact, most of you can already guess who graded out in stellar and horrendous fashion.

Here's a look at the five best offensive players below:

Top 5 offense

WR Christian Kirk - 92.7
OL Ed Ingram - 87.1
OT Blake Fisher - 83.3
WR Jayden Higgins - 79.3
RB Woody Marks - 78.7

There's not much more that you can say about Kirk's performance other than "wow" from the public standpoint. Not only was this the highest marker for the veteran slot receiver since joining the Texans, but it marked the highest PFF grade in his seven-year tenure.

Marks, who posted his first 100-yard game as a professional, was set up with a great protection set thanks to Ingram, who posted an 86.4 run-blocking grade.

Bottom 5 offense

OT Tytus Howard - 44.1
OT Tay Ersery - 47.1
WR Nico Collins - 55.0
WR Jaylin Noel - 55.4
TE Harrison Bryant - 55.8

Both Howard and Ersery struggled on the left side with run blocking, grading out with a failing frame overall of 43.1 and 45.3. Noel, who dropped his one targeted pass, finished with a 56.0 receiving grade and 61.2 route-running grade.