T.J. Watt absolutely turned back the clock yesterday, pulling off a vintage performance that dragged the Pittsburgh Steelers to a gritty 20-13 win over the Atlanta Falcons. Watt didn’t just play well; he dominated, racking up two sacks, three tackles for loss, and delivering the undisputed play of the entire 1:00 window.
Watt’s Defensive Masterclass Was Pure Magic
Midway through the fourth quarter, with the Steelers clinging to a tight 13-10 lead, Watt pulled off pure magic. He read a screen pass to Bijan Robinson like he wrote the play, snatched it out of the air, and even after falling, popped right back up. Jaquan Brisker, Keeanu Benton, and Payton Wilson formed a human convoy, escorting him straight into the end zone for his first career pick-six. Talk about making a statement in Week 1! This guy is the real deal, becoming the first player in history with two sacks and an interception in two different season openers. Seriously, who does that?
Defense Shines, But Offense Stumbles Hard
Watt wasn’t a solo act either. Alex Highsmith brought his own heat with two sacks, and Cam Heyward swatted down three passes at the line. Rookie Jaquan Brisker had a killer debut, grabbing an interception off Cooper Rush that directly set up Pittsburgh’s only offensive touchdown. Payton Wilson was everywhere, leading the squad with a monster 13 tackles, two of those for loss. But man, the offense? Woof. Atlanta absolutely stifled the run game, holding Pittsburgh to a brutal 58 yards on 21 carries. Aaron Rodgers threw it 40 times, but only averaged 5.5 yards per attempt, and the team converted a miserable 3-of-13 on third downs, averaging just 4.1 yards per play. That’s a huge red flag against a Falcons team missing its top two edge rushers, too. What gives?
Receiver Woes Overshadow Rodgers’ Arm Talent
A big part of the offensive struggle came down to the receivers. DK Metcalf, the Steelers’ top wideout, had a rough day at the office. He got flagged for offensive pass interference twice, one of which wiped out a crucial third-down conversion. Then he dropped a perfectly thrown ball from Rodgers on another third down, killing another potential conversion, and couldn’t get his feet in bounds on a 4th-and-3. Roman Wilson even dropped a potential long touchdown in the end zone. The only offensive score came after Brisker’s pick, with Rodgers extending the play and hitting Pat Freiermuth for a 13-7 lead. The silver lining is Rodgers’ arm talent is clearly still there, especially on deep balls. He was throwing darts, but the hands just weren’t connecting. Week 1 is never pretty, but those drops gotta get cleaned up fast.
This wasn’t a pretty win, but a win is a win. T.J. Watt and the defense bought them a victory, no doubt. The offense, though? They’ve got a ton to fix before next week. Can they clean up the drops and get the run game going? They absolutely have to if they want to build on this win. No more excuses, time to execute.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Behind the Steel Curtain.
Leave a Reply