With a new-look offense featuring a backup starting quarterback and a backup starting left guard, the Pittsburgh Steelers needed someone to step up and make some plays for them Sunday in Atlanta to put some points on the board.
Turns out, that was veteran Kicker Chris Boswell.
Boswell drilled all six field goal attempts on the day, powering the Steelers to an 18-10 win over the Falcons to move to 1-0 on the season.
Backup quarterback Justin Fields got the start for the injured Russell Wilson, while left guard Spencer Anderson started in place of the injured Isaac Seumalo in new coordinator Arthur Smith’s first regular-season game calling plays for the Steelers.
It wasn’t always pretty, but in the end the Steelers put more points on the board than Atlanta, picking up a much-needed win.
Postgame, Fields stated that having a weapon like Boswell at the offense’s disposal is huge.
“Yeah, he definitely did his thing today. He was kicking those long field goals for us, putting points up on the board, and late in the game he had to punt [for] Cam [Johnston]. So, just having a weapon like him on the offensive side of the ball, we only have to get the ball to the 40,” Fields said of Boswell’s big day, according to video via the Steelers’ YouTube page. “I mean, it makes our job way easier, but like I said before, we’d rather end drives with extra points rather than field goal.
“So, we’re gonna work on that and score more touchdowns next week.”
While it was a bit disappointing to see the Steelers unable to finish drives with touchdowns rather than field goals, it was quite impressive to see Boswell connect the way he did on Sunday, hitting from 57, 51, 44, 56, 40, and 25 yards.
Once the Steelers crossed midfield, they were in Boswell’s range.
The standout kicker connected three times from 50+ yards, which is no surprise with him. He is the NFL’s 50+ king, as we wrote back in December 2023. And head coach Mike Tomlin’s postgame comments leaned into that, as Tomlin said he had no hesitation calling on Boswell from 50+ yards multiple times.
It was quite the weapon to have on Sunday inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium. That weapon came through in the clutch as the Steelers won on the road.
Next week though, the Steelers have to lighten the load on Boswell.
