The Pittsburgh Steelers made their stance on tight end Pat Freiermuth painfully clear during their 30–6 Wild Card loss to the Houston Texans — and it wasn’t one fans wanted to see.
The defeat itself was hard enough to endure. Mike Tomlin’s team entered the postseason with the comfort of defending Acrisure Stadium, a place long-considered hostile territory for visiting teams. Instead, the Steelers were embarrassed in front of their home crowd, overwhelmed physically and mentally by a Texans team that dictated every phase of the game.
When the offense desperately needed a spark, Arthur Smith’s decisions only deepened the frustration.