The NFL postseason brings elevated play on the field with the stakes higher — and one team even upped its pettiness.

The Houston Texans dominated the Pittsburgh Steelers 30-6 to clinch the final divisional round spot. The Steelers’ 24-point loss is their worst in a home playoff game in franchise history and third worst in any playoff game, according to ESPN Research.

Houston’s defense allowed just 175 total yards and forced two turnovers — both of which were returned for scores. Pittsburgh forced three turnovers, but those resulted in only six points. The Steelers became the first team to score six or fewer points in a playoff game despite having at least three takeaways since the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1999. Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers had 146 passing yards, while Texans signal-caller C.J. Stroud had 250 passing yards.

Houston made sure to poke fun at Pittsburgh after its victory. The Texans edited a “Welcome To Pittsburgh” sign by spray-painting the final score and “Swarm City” on it — a spin on Steel City. They also included the character from the Fallout video game series with the 713 Houston area code on the bottom.

First side quest complete. pic.twitter.com/J8Y6SliC88

— Houston Texans (@HoustonTexans) January 13, 2026

Here are the top trolls from the NFL wild-card round.

The San Francisco 49ers upset the defending champion Philadelphia Eagles on the road. The 49ers closed as a 5.5-point underdog — according to DraftKings Sportsbook — their third-largest upset win in a postseason game in the Super Bowl era, according to ESPN Research.

With 43 seconds left, Philadelphia faced a fourth-and-11 at San Francisco’s 21-yard-line with a chance to take the lead. But Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts‘ pass was incomplete, clinching a 49ers win. San Francisco quarterback Brock Purdy threw for 262 yards and two touchdowns. Hurts had 168 passing yards and a touchdown.

The 49ers followed their massive victory by trolling the Eagles. They poked fun at Philadelphia’s “Fly Eagles Fly” chant, including spelling out “Eagles.” San Francisco instead spelled out “Niners” in its caption. It also wouldn’t be a troll without referencing a Philly cheesesteak, which the 49ers posted to emphasize that they are “still hungry for more.”

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The Buffalo Bills held off the Jacksonville Jaguars for their first playoff road win since the 1992 AFC Championship Game, according to ESPN Research.

The fourth quarter included touchdowns on each of Jacksonville’s and Buffalo’s first two drives — both teams had only one touchdown apiece before the final quarter. The Bills capped a nine-play, 66-yard drive with a 1-yard rushing score from quarterback Josh Allen. The Jaguars had a chance to answer with just over a minute left, but quarterback Trevor Lawrence‘s pass was picked off, sending Buffalo to the next round.

After Jacksonville clinched the AFC South in Week 18, teammate and cornerback Jarrian Jones gave Lawrence a grill in the locker room. The moment was inspired by an AI photo someone posted on social media of Lawrence wearing a grill and a giant chain around his neck.

The Bills’ postgame graphic included what resembles a grill — with “Bills Win” written on it — buried in the sand at a beach. They also shared a photo of Allen rocking shades and a chain from a July 2024 video and resurfaced a Jaguars’ post from Friday.

😁😁😁 pic.twitter.com/HRs9BVedXC

— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) January 11, 2026

Joshua. Patrick. Allen. pic.twitter.com/OJnkr8Crqc

— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) January 11, 2026

Right here. Right now. 😉 https://t.co/ldXBMZX32G

— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) January 11, 2026

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The Los Angeles Rams outlasted the Carolina Panthers in a wild opening playoff matchup.

Los Angeles and Carolina threw haymakers in the fourth, each scoring 14 points. There were four lead changes, tied for the most in a playoff game in NFL history. But the Rams had the go-ahead score when quarterback Matthew Stafford connected with tight end Colby Parkinson for a 19-yard touchdown with 38 seconds left. The Panthers turned it over on downs on their ensuing possession, clinching the Rams’ victory.

A huge win came with multiple clever trolls.

Los Angeles first posted a graphic of a hook with a string holding a football as a panther looked up with the caption referencing the sound commonly used to lure cats. The Rams then referenced a famous scene from the 1994 film “The Lion King,” when Rafiki presents a young Simba to the other animals as the future king. This time, Rafiki held the Panthers logo then tossed it.

ESPN Research contributed to this report.

The Atlanta Falcons announced Monday that they have completed an interview with John Harbaugh for their head coaching job.

It is Harbaugh’s first formal interview since he was fired by the Baltimore Ravens last week, but sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Monday that Harbaugh has been conducting preliminary and extensive phone calls with the New York Giants, Tennessee Titans, Cleveland Browns, Las Vegas Raiders and Arizona Cardinals.

He is trying to determine which teams to meet with later this week and into next week before deciding where he will coach next season, the sources told Schefter.

Chris Mara, the Giants’ senior personnel consultant, told The Athletic on Monday that he had an informal meeting with Harbaugh at the coach’s house Sunday.

Harbaugh, 63, ranks 12th for most wins by a head coach in NFL history with 193 and guided the Ravens to a Super Bowl title in 2012. He was named the NFL’s Coach of the Year in 2019.

In leading the Ravens for 18 seasons, he was the second-longest active coach in the league behind Mike Tomlin, who is in his 19th season with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

But Harbaugh didn’t produce as much postseason success in recent years as he had earlier in his career, which was a major disappointment, considering he had two-time NFL Most Valuable Player Lamar Jackson. In eight seasons with Jackson, Harbaugh won only three playoff games and never advanced past the AFC Championship Game.

The preseason betting favorite to win the Super Bowl, the Ravens (8-9) finished this season with a losing record for only the third time under Harbaugh.

Harbaugh is the fifth candidate to interview for the Falcons’ job after the team fired coach Raheem Morris following an 8-9 season. Atlanta said on Monday that former Miami Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel interviewed for its head coach opening.

The Falcons, who also will be hiring a new general manager after firing Terry Fontenot, hired former franchise quarterback Matt Ryan as their president of football, a new position created by owner Arthur Blank.

ESPN’s Jamison Hensley contributed to this report.

HONOLULU — Brooks Koepka is expecting a nervous energy when he returns to a regular PGA Tour event for the first time in four years at the Farmers Insurance Open.

Only some of that pertains to his golf.

How he is received — inside and outside the ropes — remains to be seen as the first player to be invited back to the PGA Tour after taking Saudi riches to defect to the LIV Golf League in 2022.

“I’ve got a lot of work to do with some of the players,” Koepka said in a telephone interview Monday. “There’s definitely guys who are happy, and definitely guys who will be angry. It’s a harsh punishment financially. I understand exactly why the tour did that — it’s meant to hurt. But it [his departure] hurt a lot of people.

“If anyone is upset, I need to rebuild those relationships.”

Koepka was allowed back under a one-time Returning Member Program that the PGA Tour board developed and approved last week. It applies only to players who have won a major or the Players Championship since 2022.

The penalty is a $5 million contribution to a charity the tour will help decide, no access to FedEx Cup bonus money in 2026, no sponsor exemptions to the $20 million signature events and, most importantly, no equity grants in the PGA Tour for the next five years.

The PGA Tour estimates, based on Koepka performing at the level allowed to win five majors, that the financial repercussions could be worth anywhere from $50 million to $85 million.

“There was no negotiating,” Koepka said about his conversation last week with Brian Rolapp, the CEO of PGA Tour Enterprises. “It’s meant to hurt — it does hurt — but I understand. It’s not supposed to be an easy path. There’s a lot of people that were hurt by it when I left, and I understand that’s part of coming back.”

For those not happy to see him return, Koepka said he looks forward to having private conversations outside the media.

“The first week I’ll be a little bit nervous,” Koepka said. “There’s a lot going on than just golf. I’ll be glad to put the first week behind me — dealing with the media, dealing with the players, and then getting some of those tougher conversations. But I’m looking forward to it.

“Am I nervous? Yes. Am I excited? Yes. In a weird way, I want to have those conversations.”

Jordan Spieth said Koepka just needed to be the same person who left.

“You’re not going to ask somebody to change to please other people,” Spieth said. “I don’t think he needs to play Monday pro-ams or walk along the range and shake everyone’s and say, ‘I’m sorry.’ He just comes back and plays really good golf. That’s good for everybody.”

The board, led by a majority of players, signed off on the plan. Koepka talked with Rolapp by phone Thursday evening, and he was at PGA Tour headquarters the next morning unaccompanied. He came in through a side entrance.

The 35-year-old Koepka, who is exempt the next three years from his 2023 victory in the PGA Championship at Oak Hill, will return at Torrey Pines on Jan. 29. He also said he would play the WM Phoenix Open, where he won his first PGA Tour title in 2015 and won again in 2021.

That might provide the first real test of how the public feels — a Saturday afternoon on the 16th hole of the TPC Scottsdale, the rowdiest in golf even for players the fans don’t really know.

“I can handle it,” Koepka said. “I enjoy the crowd, and hopefully everybody is happy to see me. They can’t be mad at me forever.”

So why the change?

Word first began to circulate in November that negotiations between Koepka and LIV Golf — he had one year left on his contract — were not going well. He had publicly complained last summer that LIV was not as far along as he would have liked.

And then Dec. 23 came the announcement from LIV of an “amicable” split, and Koepka reapplied for PGA Tour membership.

Koepka cited a knee injury that has taken a toll on his body and the desire to spend more time with his family as the reasons to join LIV. He cited the need to spend more time at home when he left LIV, particularly after his wife had a miscarriage last fall.

“I needed to be there with my family over the last few months. I needed to be closer to home,” Koepka said. “I was able to get out of the LIV contract, everything lined up perfectly and I was able to get back on tour.

“I’m happy and grateful it was able to come to this.”

Koepka has not spoken publicly about how much he was offered to play for LIV, except for saying it was nine figures on a 2023 podcast with boxer Jake Paul. Also unclear was how much he had to pay back by leaving one year early.

Now it’s about playing again on familiar turf with players he saw only four times a year at the majors. He is close with several players who live in South Florida. Others he will see for the first time in the locker room, on the range, on the first tee.

“There’s probably a mixed bag of ‘We’re happy you’re back, welcome home’ to ‘You shouldn’t be here.’ I understand everybody’s point of view,” Koepka said. “I was going to be sitting out possibly a year, and I’m extremely thankful the tour gave me this opportunity.”