Steel City Underground presents post-game takeaways for every 2024 Pittsburgh Steelers NFL regular season games, focusing on the black and gold, just for members of Steelers Nation.
The odds seemed stacked against Pittsburgh early when Russell Wilson was unable to start at quarterback, opening the door for Justin Fields. Thankfully, Fields took the task at hand and operated in a relatively safe scheme with few risky plays and good time management. The Steelers defense didn't back down to Atlanta's playmakers. Placekicker Chris Boswell was the big star of the afternoon, though, by singlehandedly putting the Steelers' points on the scoreboard with his strong leg for a surprising 18-10 win in Atlanta in NFL Week 1 of the 2024 regular season.
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The Steelers didn't ask Fields to do anything crazy in this game. Offensive coordinator Arthur Smith dialed up a mix of ground-and-pound behind an offensive line that wanted to show the Falcons who they were in the trenches.
"Some things were said like, 'Man, can we get a pass play?' Us as o-linemen were like, no, let's just keep punishing (Atlanta). I don't know how much we had on the ground, but we executed our game plan pretty well." - guard Spencer Anderson
Najee Harris, as the primary ball carrier, charged hard to gain as many yards as possible when called upon. He gained 70 yards on 20 carries, often grinding through the loaded box Atlanta's defense presented. Pittsburgh added 21 more carries with a mix of Jaylen Warren, Cordarrelle Patterson, and Fields. The end result was 137 yards on the ground which helped game management.
Fields did make some nice passes as things opened up. Receiver George Pickens was his favored target, but he spread the ball around to eight total targets in a game that saw Fields complete 17-of-23 passes for 156 yards. Pickens accounted for 6 receptions for 85 yards.
There's no need to hype T.J. Watt, we know what he is: a wrecking machine. Watt was either putting heat on Kirk Cousins - including a sack, a stripped ball, two tackles for a loss, and three QB hits - or making multiple trips into the Atlanta offensive backfield in this game. A controversial offsides call negated what would have been a strip-sack and recovery. But, Watt didn't relent, and ended the game with a big sack on Cousins.
The Steelers defense grabbed two interceptions against Cousins, as well, in the game. The first pick was made by DeShon Elliott and the other was made by Donte Jackson. Neither player was on the team last season.
"I always pictured myself being an impact player on this defense. Stick me on the field with a bunch of great players... I know what type of opportunity I have." - CB Donte Jackson
When a single player puts all the points for his team on the scoreboard, it's hard not to give him respect. Placekicker Chris Boswell blasted 6 field goals through the uprights to do exactly that: score. His longest field goal went for 57 yards.
When punter Cameron Johnston was hurt on a play, Boswell had and NFL-career first opportunity to ping the ball. He nailed it for 43 yards.
After the play, he went into the medical tent to be with Johnston. Now that's class and stepping up for the team.