Atlanta Falcons @ Pittsburgh Steelers
T.J. Watt's late pick-6 pushes sluggish Steelers past injury-laden Falcons 20-13
PITTSBURGH -- — T.J. Watt began his 10th season by trying to move past the noise that followed his ninth.
The noise that said the Pittsburgh Steelers star outside linebacker had lost a step, maybe two, after quiet and injury-marred 2025. The noise that wondered if his time as a singular gamewrecker was over as his 32nd birthday neared.
Watt provided an emphatic answer Sunday: not quite yet.
The former high school tight end turned back the clock in a 20-13 season-opening win over Atlanta, leaping to pick off a pass from Cooper Rush and racing — well, after stumbling over his own feet — 35 yards for a decisive fourth-quarter touchdown as Pittsburgh made Mike McCarthy's debut coaching his hometown team a success.
“That’s what he does,” longtime teammate Alex Highsmith said. “He's the best in the world.”
Even if Watt didn't play like it at times last season, when the four-time All-Pro finished with 7 sacks — tied for the second-fewest of his career — and missed several games late following a freak dry needling injury.
Watt already put a dent in that total in the opener, chasing down Rush twice as part of a defensive effort that sacked the late replacement for Tua Tagovailoa four times, swatted away six passes and never let him get comfortable.
That discomfort was never more noticeable on Watt's second career touchdown, when he anticipated a dump off to Robinson and snatched the ball out of midair just after Rush released it. The next few seconds were chaos, as Watt scrambled downfield, briefly lost his footing and popped back up before he was touched.
“I had no bearing at all,” Watt said. “I'm sure the fall didn't look too graceful but glad someone told me to get up and keep running.”
The Steelers needed a vintage Watt performance to overcome a sluggish start by Aaron Rodgers and company. Rodgers began his 22nd and final season by throwing for 221 yards and a touchdown to tight end Pat Freiermuth but was hampered by a couple of drops by DK Metcalf and a running game that did little to take pressure off him.
Yet there were also signs of potential, particularly late in the fourth quarter when the Steelers took over deep in their territory. Rodgers completed three passes during the clinching drive — one each to Metcalf, Michael Pittman and Darnell Washington — as Pittsburgh drained the final 4:16 off the clock.
“Being able to end the game on our terms, with Aaron on the ball, taking a knee, you know you can’t take that for granted,” Freiermuth said.
The ball eventually ended up in the hands of McCarthy, who grew up a few miles from downtown Pittsburgh and is well aware of the expectations that come with the job. The first of what he hopes are many victorious afternoons didn't go particularly smoothly, especially for the offense that he was hired specifically to fine tune.
Not that it mattered when Rodgers handed him the game ball, which McCarthy called a “special moment” as they started a reunion from their time in Green Bay that included a Super Bowl win. There's also a part of him that's ready to get all the firsts out of the way so he can lean into the rhythm of the season.
“It's time to move on and get team victories from here on,” McCarthy said. “I'm not one for attention. So the homecoming has been great. Just glad to get this one under our belt.”
The Falcons have plenty of questions to answer this season under first-year coach Kevin Stefanski.
Running back Bijan Robinson is not one of them.
The young star did everything he could to keep the Falcons in it, accounting for 173 of the Falcons' 238 total yards and Atlanta's lone touchdown on a swing pass in which he split three defenders and raced to the end zone.
“Bijan's a great player,” Stefanski said. “We're going to keep leaning on him in all these games, and we have to.”
It just wasn't enough for the Falcons to win in Pittsburgh for the first time in franchise history. Not on a day when Atlanta had 96 yards in penalties and kicker Nick Folk, who had just one missed field goal each of the past three seasons, was off target on his first two kicks when the outcome was still in doubt.
“Nick's not going to be perfect this year, I don't expect him to be perfect,” Stefanski said. “I don't expect our football team to be perfect. But you want your guys to respond to it, so I know he'll respond.”
Falcons cornerback A.J. Terrell was hurt breaking up a pass in the third quarter. He missed a series but did return. Defensive tackle De'Shawn Hand exited with a knee injury in the first half and did not return.
The Steelers played without cornerback Joey Porter Jr., who missed most of training camp with a back issue. He did practice during the week, though McCarthy said Porter's absence was due to his health and not contract talks that broke down without Porter signing an extension.
Falcons: host NFC South rival Carolina next Sunday.
Steelers: head to New England next Sunday.
------
