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VanderBlog: Unforgettable day at NRG Stadium

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No matter what happens from here, we'll remember this one for a long time.

On a day when the Texans immortalized one of the NFL greatest players, they dominated one of the NFL's greatest franchises and ran their record to 2-2 for the first time in four years.

Winning at home, and back-to-back overall for the first time since late 2021, was sweet. What was sweeter was doing it with this crew, early in the season, with a world of possibilities to look forward to.

C.J. Stroud kept his piping hot start going and the running game kicked in its best performance of the season so far.

The opening drive was moving along nicely until a review took a TD off the board, then another one was wiped out by a penalty. It didn't matter as Stroud found Nico Collins for the first of two scoring connections on the day.

The defense was stifling and pitched a shutout in the first half. Back-to-back Pittsburgh field goals in the second half made it a 10-point game while the offense punted twice. But the next Steelers series was snuffed out by the second Jonathan Greenard sack of the day, on a fourth down play.

View the best photos from the Week 4 matchup between the Houston Texans and Pittsburgh Steelers.

After that, the offense revved up again and entered the fourth quarter with a 10-play drive that ended with Devin Singletary finding Dalton Schultz in the endzone on a halfback option pass to make it a three-score game.

After a three-and-out with Mitch Trubisky in for an injured Kenny Pickett, the H-Town offense got on the board again with more second half 3rd down magic – a Stroud to Collins 52-yard pass for six.

This was as complete a game as anyone could have hoped for. The offensive line, with three members who weren't with the team at the start of training camp, helped keep Stroud without a sack for the second straight week. And they paved the way for a season-high 139 yards on the ground.

The defense held the Steelers to a season-low 225 yards and, more importantly, two field goals.

This is clearly a new era. The sideline was on fire. DeMeco Ryans was waving his arms to encourage the crowd to get going on third down. There was never any doubt in the locker room that the squad could win.

A road date with Atlanta is next. Can't wait.

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