That was the sound of Houston Texans players colliding with Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers early in the fourth quarter of their Wild Card Round matchup, causing him to lose the ball. Texans defensive lineman Sheldon Rankins picked the ball up and ran it to the end zone for what felt like the knockout blow even though there was still a lot of time left to play.
It was that type of game for both teams – a defensive struggle – as Houston put together a 30-6 victory. It was the franchise’s first road playoff victory.
There were big hits and little room for error. Houston had a 7-6 lead at halftime thanks to a touchdown pass from C.J. Stroud to Christian Kirk.
Even as the Texans turned the ball over three times between the first half and the third quarter, the Steelers could only muster up three points. Houston’s defensive prowess was on display on each snap as Rodgers was left with little to no time to make a decision.
When he did have time to throw, wide receivers like DK Metcalf, Jonnu Smith and Calvin Austin III either dropped the ball or were just a hair off. Rodgers also had a few of his passes deflected.
Steelers fans let the team hear it with plenty of boos. Pittsburgh extended its playoff losing streak to seven games.
Texans running back Woody Marks ran for 100 yards for the first time in his career and scored a touchdown to really seal the win. Texans defensive back Calen Bullock returned an interception for a touchdown late in the game.
Stroud finished 21-of-32 with 250 passing yards and the touchdown pass. The Texans’ defense sacked Rodgers four times. Rankins was good for 1.5 sacks.
The Steelers almost had no offense throughout the game. The team was held to 175 yards and outscored 23-0 in the fourth quarter.
<img src="https://www.mtlblog.com/media-library/aerial-view-of-downtown-ottawa-right-someone-working-on-a-laptop-illustrative.jpg?id=53824296&width=2000&height=1500&coordinates=152%2C0%2C152%2C0"/><br/><br/><p> When it comes to the <a href="https://www.mtlblog.com/montreal-ranked-best-cities-in-the-world-cn-traveler-2024" target="_blank" rel="noopener">best cities in the world</a> for work-life balance, Canada seems to stack up pretty well, with three cities landing in a new global ranking — but apparently, Montreal missed the memo.
</p><p> This year's <a href="https://www.theblueground.com/research/best-cities-work-life-balance" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Global Work-Life Balance City Index</a> by real estate site Blueground placed Ottawa — yes, the city that fun forgot — in a shocking #5 spot globally, making it the highest-ranked city in Canada for <a href="https://www.mtlblog.com/tag/work-life-balance" target="_blank" rel="noopener">work-life balance</a>. Toronto followed at #14, while Vancouver rounded out the trio at #22.
</p><p> The ranking evaluated cities across various factors that contribute to a healthy work-life balance, like work intensity, job opportunities, time off and societal support. It also looked at aspects that contribute to residents' well-being, like affordability, outdoor spaces, safety and happiness. The result is an overall index score that highlights cities where people can strike a good balance between work and life.
</p><p> According to Blueground, these rankings are designed to highlight cities that excel at creating environments where people can thrive both at work and during their personal time — making these some of the <a href="https://www.mtlblog.com/coolest-cities-in-canada-2024" target="_blank" rel="noopener">best cities to live in Canada</a>. Blueground says it looked at 350 labour markets from around the world before narrowing its list down to 75. Apparently, Montreal didn't make the cut.<br/>
</p><p> The three Canadian cities that made the cut scored pretty high in terms of overall work-life balance, with all three ranking in the top 25. Here's how they scored out of 100:
</p><ul>
<li><strong>Ottawa</strong>: 5th overall with a score of 93.2</li>
<li><strong>Toronto</strong>: 14th overall with a score of 91.3</li>
<li><strong>Vancouver</strong>: 22nd overall with a score of 87.6</li>
</ul><h2>A surprising win in outdoor spaces</h2><p> One of Ottawa's standout features was its Outdoor Spaces, where it actually ranked #1 out of all 75 cities in the index, scoring a perfect 100. This means residents have plenty of urban green infrastructure and access to nature, which helps them unwind after a busy workday.
</p><p> While it might come as a surprise that Ottawa beat Vancouver in this area, it's worth noting that this category also looked at how weather conditions might affect the <em>use</em> of these spaces. "This includes average temperatures, the annual number of rainy days, annual sunshine hours, and cloudlessness," it explains. Sorry, West Coasters.
</p><p> But Vancouver redeemed itself with its perfect score in Air Quality — tying with Portland for the top spot — while Ottawa came in at #4 in that category with a score of 99.3.
</p><h2>But what about vacation days?</h2><p> Despite their strong overall showings, one obstacle for all three cities was the Minimum Vacation Days category, where the Canadian cities ranked fourth-last overall with only 10 vacation days required by law in this country.
</p><p> For comparison, cities like Vienna, Dubai, Paris and Rio de Janeiro top this category with 30 days each.
</p><h2>Top 10 overall</h2><p> Here's a quick look at the top 10 cities for work-life balance overall, according to Blueground:
</p><ol>
<li>Helsinki, Finland</li>
<li>Oslo, Norway</li>
<li>Copenhagen, Denmark</li>
<li>Stockholm, Sweden</li>
<li><strong>Ottawa, Canada</strong></li>
<li>Sydney, Australia</li>
<li>Melbourne, Australia</li>
<li>Brussels, Belgium</li>
<li>Paris, France</li>
<li>Zürich, Switzerland</li>
</ol><p> Maybe next year, Montreal!
</p><p>
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<em>AI tools may have been used to support the creation or distribution of this content; however, it has been carefully edited and fact-checked by a member of MTL Blog's Editorial team. For more information on our use of AI, please visit our <a href="https://www.mtlblog.com/editorial-standards" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Editorial Standards page</a>.</em>
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