In lead up to Pittsburgh’s preseason against the Atlanta Falcons tonight, speculation was out there whether or not Atlanta would play their starters or have them sit the bench. According to reporter Cameron Wolfe, the Falcons haven’t determined – at least publicly – if their starters will see action.
For now, it looks like a majority of Atlanta’s key starters won’t suit up to face Pittsburgh tonight.
According to The Athletic’s Josh Kendall, who cites a league source, the Falcons will indeed park their starters against the Steelers.
Kendall notes that head coach Arthur Smith and other members of the organization clearly believe the risk of injury outweighs any benefits starters would receive from playing a couple extra drives prior to the start of the regular season. From an injury prevention standpoint, it’s hard to argue against the Falcons holding out a majority of their veteran players, especially those with ample NFL experience. Players like EDGE Bud Dupree and DL Calais Campbell are longer in the tooth and have battled various injuries the last several years, not needing an extra possession or two in a preseason game to get warmed up for regular season play and potentially risk injury prior to the games counting for real.
This will make for another excellent tune up game for the Steelers as head coach Mike Tomlin as well as several of the other prominent players on the roster have stated that all healthy players will play to some extent in the preseason finale. This will provide the offense with another change to go there tonight and cap off what has been a stellar preseason of action, scoring three touchdowns on three offensive drives.
It may be against mostly Atlanta’s younger players and reserves, but more snaps for both the offense and defense for Pittsburgh should be seen as a good thing as this team looks to finish out the preseason on a high note, taking this hot streak with them into the regular season with the San Francisco 49ers waiting for them Week One.
