On Sunday, the Pittsburgh Steelers will play the Houston Texans on the road and that means they will be facing rookie QB C.J. Stroud, the second overall selection in the 2023 NFL Draft out of Ohio State. Usually, the Steelers play well against teams with rookie starting quarterbacks but the last time they faced a Texans team with one, things didn’t go well for them.
Well, for the Steelers’ offense that is.
Back in 2002, the Texans were in their own rookie season as an expansion team and their starting quarterback that season was David Carr, the first overall selection that year. The Texans were 3-9 entering that 2002 Week 14 game at Heinz Field against the Steelers, who entered that contest with a 7-4-1 record. The Steelers were 14-point favorites ahead of that Dec. 8 kickoff, but their offense must have missed that memo.
After the Steelers’ defense forced the Texans to punt on their opening possession, the team’s offense proceeded to drive from deep in its own end of the field to its 35-yard-line. However, on a third-and-18 play from their own 35, QB Tommy Maddox fumbled, and Texans CB Kenny Wright scooped up the loose football and returned it 40 yards for a touchdown.
On the Steelers’ next offensive possession, Maddox was intercepted by Texans S Aaron Glenn on a second-and-11 play from the Houston 35-yard line. Glenn returned that interception 70 yards for another Texans touchdown, and with just a little more than two minutes remaining in the first quarter, the Steelers trailed Houston 14-0 at home.
Another turnover happened on the Steelers’ next possession as WR Antwaan Randle El fumbled on a first-and-10 play from the Texans’ 36-yard-line. That loose football was recovered by Texans S Jason Simmons. The Texans, however, were unable to turn their third takeaway into points.
The Steelers did avoid getting shut out during the first half, however, thanks to K Jeff Reed connecting on a 40-yard goal with 28 seconds left to go in the second quarter. The first half ended with the Texans registering all of 21 net yards on offense and only two first downs, one of which came via a Steelers penalty. Carr, by the way, went 2-of-5 passing for 18 yards in the first half and he was sacked three times.
As bad as the Steelers’ offense played in the first half against the Texans, the unit did open the second half with a 10-play, 51-yard drive that culminated with Reed kicking a 31-yard field goal with 9:54 remaining in the third quarter. Down 14-6, there was still hope that the Steelers could win the game, especially with the way their defense was playing.
The rest of the third quarter was really nondescript as both teams struggled to move the football. The Steelers offense did put together another long drive to start the fourth quarter but that one sadly culminated with a missed 43-yard field goal by Reed.
The Texans’ ensuing possession was a short one as was the Steelers’ one that followed. However, the Texans fumbled a punt return back to the Steelers, resulting in Pittsburgh’s offense starting its 13th possession of the game at Houston’s 25-yard-line. That possession, however, ended just inside the red zone thanks to Maddox being sacked on a fourth-and-3 play from the Texans’ 18-yard-line.
After taking over possession on downs, the Texans offense went three-and-out for an eighth time in the contest. However, the punt was muffed by Randle El and recovered by Texans LB Troy Evans at the Steelers’ 20-yard-line.
While the Steelers defense forced the Texans offense to go three-and-out a ninth time following that muffed punt, Houston still managed to come away with a 43-yard field goal by Kris Brown to take a 17-6 lead with 3:40 left in the fourth quarter.
Following the Brown field goal, the Steelers managed to march into Houston territory once again. However, Maddox was intercepted again by Glenn on a fourth-and-2 play from the Texans’ 38-yard-line and the safety returned that takeaway 65 yards for yet another defensive touchdown. It was all academic at that point and the Steelers went on to lose the game, 24-6.
The Texans won despite registering all of 47 net yards on offense with just three total first downs. Carr finished the game having completed just three of his 10 total pass attempts for 33 yards. He was, however, sacked four times for 23 yards in losses.
The Steelers offense, on the other hand, was obviously why the team lost that home game to the Texans. Five total turnovers, three of which were returned for touchdowns, were too much to overcome. Maddox finished the game 30-of-57 passing for 325 yards with two interceptions and a fumble. He was also sacked six times.
“They scored 24 points, and I gave them 21 of them,” Maddox said after that 2002 home loss to the Texans. “You can put it on my shoulders. I will take the heat.”
Steelers head coach Bill Cowher also summed up that loss to the Texans appropriately.
“We just couldn’t overcome ourselves,” Cowher said during his postgame press conference.
As previously mentioned, on Sunday the Steelers will face another Texans rookie quarterback in Stroud, who has looked very promising in his first three NFL starts. Stroud will be the 28th true rookie quarterback that has started against the Steelers since 2007, when Mike Tomlin became the team’s head coach. Tomlin enters that Sunday contest 23-4 against true rookie quarterbacks but it is worth noting that three of four losses came in road games.
The last true rookie quarterback that the Steelers lost to under Tomlin was Dak Prescott in 2016. That was a 35-30 home loss to the Dallas Cowboys. The first true rookie quarterback that Tomlin lost to was Troy Smith in 2007 as part of the Steelers losing to the Baltimore Ravens, 27-21, on the road that season. Smith, by the way, like Stroud, is an Ohio State product.
