The Houston Texans defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Wild Card round to win the franchise’s first-ever road playoff game, despite quarterback C.J. Stroud’s determination to turn the football over.
Stroud and the Texans will head to New England to face Drake Maye and the upstart New England Patriots in the Divisional round, but it’s going to be even harder for Stroud to find his rhythm, as he’s expected to be without his top target, wide receiver Nico Collins.
“Texans WR Nico Collins is not at practice today. That almost slams the door on him playing this week against the Patriots,” reported ESPN’s DJ Nien-Aime on Twitter on Thursday.
Texans WR Nico Collins is not at practice today.
That almost slams the door on him playing this week against the Patriots.
— DJ Bien-Aime (@Djbienaime) January 15, 2026
Fans reacted to the news on social media.
“It’s almost a day for each stage. He can still be cleared but everything was already on a tight schedule since they played on Monday,” one fan wrote on Twitter.
“Why are we still talking about this? We saw him fall on his head and get concussed live. Of course he’s not playing. This isn’t as big of a loss to the Texans as the media is making it out to be. The Texans WR room is good even without him,” someone else added.
“He got his bell RUNG in the last game, immediately clutching the front of his head. Hope he heals quickly,” another fan added.
It’ll be interesting to see how Stroud responds if Collins can’t give it a go.
About Qwame Skinner
Qwame Skinner has loved both writing and sports his entire life. In addition to his sports coverage at Comeback Media, Qwame writes novels, and his debut; The First Casualty, an adult fantasy, is out now.