The Pittsburgh Steelers enter Sunday’s matchup with the Atlanta Falcons on the road as underdogs, but former NFL GM Mike Tannenbaum thinks Pittsburgh is going to pull it out against the Falcons. On ESPN’s Get Up, Tannenbaum noted that Pittsburgh will be able to run the ball and get after the quarterback, which will give it a leg up against Atlanta.
“I got the Pittsburgh Steelers winning the game. All offseason, we talk about what the Steelers can’t do, but how about what they can do?” Tannenbaum said. “They can run the ball, and they can rush the passer. Where does Atlanta struggle? Their rush defense and I think their tackles are gonna struggle with [Alex] Highsmith and T.J. Watt. Look for Arthur Smith to get a game ball in the Steelers’ locker room after the game.”
It’s a bit of a revenge game for Smith, returning to Atlanta in his first regular-season game coaching after the Falcons fired him as their head coach after last season. Both teams enter the game with new-look offenses, with the Steelers trotting out Russell Wilson at quarterback and an offensive line that could feature up to three rookies if OG Mason McCormick and OT Troy Fautanu end up playing. Meanwhile, Atlanta has Kirk Cousins under center with WR Darnell Mooney added to a new offense under Zac Robinson, who was hired at Atlanta’s offensive coordinator by new head coach Raheem Morris.
Pittsburgh’s bread and butter this season is going to be its ground game with Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren, and the Falcons are coming off a season where they gave up 2,009 rushing yards. Atlanta got a little better defensively this offseason, but most of the changes made were to help them fix their passing defense, with EDGE rusher Matthew Judon and S Justin Simmons brought in during the preseason. It wouldn’t be a surprise if the Steelers were able to find success on the ground to give their offense a needed boost against Atlanta.
Defensively, the Steelers are projected to be one of the best teams in the league. Even with an Atlanta offense that has increased firepower, Pittsburgh could still find success getting after Cousins and limiting what the Falcons can do. It’s the offense that’s most likely going to have to step up, but with Smith as the new offensive coordinator, there’s hope that the offense can be solid this year, and a Week 1 win against his former team with a good offensive showing would make Smith quite deserving of a game ball.
