How to watch 2025-26 NFL wild card: Texans-Steelers on ABC13

The 2025 NFL playoff field is set, and a highly anticipated wild-card round awaits. The Pittsburgh Steelers, after clinching the AFC North in dramatic fashion and earning the No. 4 seed, wrap up the first weekend of postseason play by hosting the fifth-seeded Houston Texans in a playoff edition of "Monday Night Football."

Four-time NFL MVP and Super Bowl XLV champion Aaron Rodgers gets a crack at another Super Bowl and gets his top target, wide receiver DK Metcalf, back when the Steelers take on a Texans squad that enters the postseason on a nine-game winning streak following an 0-3 start.

Pittsburgh is 5-3 against Houston all-time, but the two teams have never played in the playoffs. The Texans defeated the Steelers 30-6 in their most recent meeting in Week 4 of the 2023 season.

All times are in Central Standard Time.

How to watch the big game

Fans impatiently waiting for kickoff can tune in to ABC13's "Countdown to Kickoff" starting at 6 p.m. to join Greg Bailey, Spencer Tillman, Bob Slovak, and Jonathan Bruce as they preview the game.

The main event follows soon after: fans can watch the Houston Texans play the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday, Jan. 12, at 7 p.m. on ABC13 or ESPN.

Fans can also tune in to watch pre-game coverage on ESPN, starting with "NFL Live" at 2 p.m. and "Monday Night Countdown" at 5 p.m.

'NFL Wild Card Playbook with Next Gen Stats'

"NFL on ESPN Playbook with Next Gen Stats" returns for ESPN's wild-card and divisional round playoff games. The two remaining editions of "NFL on ESPN Playbook" will be available for fans with a subscription to the ESPN Unlimited plan in the ESPN App.

Designed for viewers who crave deeper insights, "NFL on ESPN Playbook with Next Gen Stats" delivers real-time data, advanced metrics and analytics-driven commentary, powered by the NFL's Next Gen Stats and Adrenaline's TruPlay AI. Fans will consume the game with a 22-man, all-field camera view, as "NFL on ESPN Playbook" taps TruPlay AI's unprecedented live predictive engine that is capable of adjusting to personnel, formations and pre-snap movement in real time.