Winners and losers from the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 18-10 win over the Atlanta Falcons in Week 1.
WINNERS
WR George Pickens
Pickens continues to be Justin Fields’ favorite target. Short and long, he made plays at all levels. A tough 3rd-and-10 catch, a 3rd-and-3 conversion on a quick out, and a 36-yard go-ball negated by a questionable OPI. But he made his big play of the first half with a 33-yard catch at the end of the second quarter to set up Chris Boswell’s third field goal of the half.
S DeShon Elliott/CB Donte Jackson
Elliott welcomed himself nicely to Pittsburgh with a diving interception on the Falcons’ second possession of the game, snagging an errant throw by Kirk Cousins. Elliott was steady down near the line of scrimmage and while not known for his ball skills, that was an impressive and impactful play in coverage. Pittsburgh’s ability to keep a lid on things won the day.
Jackson let an early pass go through his hands but picked off Kirk Cousins on a duck throw after being squished by three Steelers. He ran it back to put Pittsburgh in field-goal range late in the fourth quarter. Jackson also got a hand on a downfield throw in the first half, tipping it away. Overall, a solid outing for the Steelers’ new additions.
K Chris Boswell
Boswell was the Pittsburgh Steelers’ first-half offense, responsible for all nine points the team put on the board. He nailed a pair of 50-yarders that were money down the middle, including a 57-yarder for the team’s first points of 2024. He didn’t cool off in the second half, connecting on a 56-yarder to put the Steelers ahead 12-10. He finished the game with six field goals, tying a career best.
It’s disappointing he’s being relied upon as much as last year, the main source of points, but the Steelers show more trust in him than they do their starting offense.
EDGE T.J. Watt
I won’t let the refs negate Watts’s inclusion on this list. The best game you’ll see that the box score won’t ultimately reflect, he appeared to perfectly time the snap for a strip-sack fumble in the first half. It was wiped out by an offsides call and QB Kirk Cousins found TE Kyle Pitts the ensuing play.
Watt picked up another strip-sack fumble in the third quarter but that was also taken away by an illegal hands to the face in the secondary. Even with those plays aside, Watt got constant pressure, made plays on the backside of the Falcons’ zone runs, and did what Falcons HC Raheem Morris vowed to prevent. Wreck the game. There is no one better than Watt in Week 1, leading the NFL with 11 sacks since drafted entering this season, and he showed why he’ll be a headache no matter what your game plan is. Watt still finished by calling game, cementing the win with a sack.
RB Najee Harris
It felt more like 2021 today with Harris, the Steelers’ bell cow back with Jaylen Warren eased back from his hamstring injury. Harris ran hard and churned out extra yardage, showing plus vision on a 20-yard scoot early in the fourth quarter. In an old-school type of day, it was an old-school performance from Harris. Pittsburgh needed it.
Second-Half Defense
Just an insane showing. Allowed 53 yards of offense to Atlanta in the second half until the final few seconds. Pressure and an interception by CB Donte Jackson, the seventh-year veteran running it back the other way to get Pittsburgh into field goal range. They put the clamps on a talented Falcons offense.
LOSERS
Punt Coverage/Special Teams (besides Boswell’s Kicking)
An issue in the preseason is an issue in the regular season. While it wasn’t tested often, the coverage unit struggled when given the chance to make plays. A 58-yard punt from Cameron Johnston turned into an ugly 30-yard net (about 42 yards of net should be the minimum). Pittsburgh used new WR Ben Skowronek and CB Darius Rush as its starting gunners and they struggled to get off blocks and make plays. This still looks like a problem and I’m not sure how Pittsburgh plans to solve it.
Penalties on a punt return negated a solid Calvin Austin III return (who did have a couple of solid legal runbacks) and then Miles Killebrew was flagged for holding that put a Falcon into P Cameron Johnston, who suffered a serious-looking knee injury. He may be lost just before the year’s begun.
LG Spencer Anderson
Maybe not an awful game for LG Spencer Anderson, filling in for the injured Isaac Seumalo. But he allowed a pressure/QB hit off play-action and was flagged for a false start that contributed to stalling out another drive. While it didn’t all fall on him, DT Grady Jarrett was too much of an impact player up front today. Like all linemen, we’ll need to check the All-22 to really get a feel for his performance.
Offense Finishing Drives
New year, new quarterback, same story. Pittsburgh simply couldn’t finish drives. That was for a variety of reasons. Conservative play calling, penalties, and poor execution, but kicking six field goals isn’t sustainable. Even in victory, this offense has to punch it in and frankly, struggled to even get all that close.
Sloppy Pre-Snap Offense
Goes hand-in-hand with the above point but should be pointed out on its own. Issues getting out of the huddle, burning an early first-half timeout on third down. Same should’ve happened in the second half on another third down where obvious confusion led to a penalty. And on a failed fourth-down QB sneak, the line and offense didn’t look ready, causing Justin Fields to get stuffed. A late-week QB change isn’t easy, but Fields has gotten plenty of reps and pretty much knew he was the guy going into the team’s final practice. No excuses.
