"The win could have come more easily, and often seemed certain that it would. That, however, would not have offered the Texans defense the chance of redemption it found in the fourth quarter on Sunday.

More than a chance to answer for last week's loss in New Orleans, when the Texans were whipped in the fourth quarter, the Texans defense had to take over with the game on the line.

With the game on the line, the Texans harassed and pounded Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, allowing just one fourth-quarter first down and sacking him three times as the Texans held on for a 17-10 win Sunday before 71,585, the largest home crowd in Texans history.

"The 3-1 (record) is great, but when you look at the teams we played and the team we played today, it's even more important," Texans owner Bob McNair. "After last week, to come back and win was really important.

"We talked about mental toughness. Physically, we've been tough enough but mentally sometimes we haven't. Hopefully, this is an indication that that mental toughness is there."

Until they closed out the win in the fourth quarter, the Texans were haunted by issues from the first half. Receiver Andre Johnson went down with a strained right hamstring in the first half, crashing to turf with no contact and immediately grabbing the back of his leg. He limped off the field and did not return."