Category: 2024 season Week 1 – Steelers vs Falcons

Joey Porter Jr. mocks Drake London after a lockdown performance

Joey Porter Jr. picked up right where he left off last season as the Steelers top coverage player.

Fans were once again treated to another elite performance from the Porter family name.  Drake London, wide receiver for the Atlanta Falcons, was supposedly due for a massive breakout year after the acquisition of free agent quarterback Kirk Cousins.  It’s fair to say that 2nd year Pittsburgh Steelers’ cornerback, Joey Porter Jr., clearly didn’t get the memo.

Joey Porter Jr. dominated Atlanta’s number one wide receiver on the field and is now in the trash-talking department as well.  If you asked JPJ, he would tell you it’s not trash talk; it’s a fact. He told Steelers reporter Dale Lolley to “check the statline” and that Drake London “did a little warm-up today.”  This is exactly the type of attitude you want out of a lockdown corner.

https://twitter.com/SteelViper45/status/1833210529529401707?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

This week Porter and the Steelers head to Denver to take on the Broncos. Porter will surely be matched up against Courtland Sutton for much of the game as he’s Denver’s top target.

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Steelers K Chris Boswell named AFC Special Teams Player of the Week

Chris Boswell hit six field goals on Sunday vs the Falcons.

The NFL named Pittsburgh Steelers kicker Chris Boswell the AFC Special Teams Player of the Week for Week One of the NFL regular season. Boswell was dominant in the Steelers 18-10 win over the Atlanta Falcons.

Boswell scored all 18 of the Steelers points on a perfect 6-for-6 on field goals. Boswell was also the first Steelers kicker to ever hit three field goals from beyond 50 yards in the same game. He hit field goals of 57, 51 and 44 yards in the first half.

In the second half he hit kicks from 56, 44 and 25 yards to close out the win. Even bigger than that, Boswell also nailed a 43-yard punt to help out the defense after punter Cameron Johnston was lost to an injury.

https://x.com/steelers/status/1833899768139153904

Boswell has been the most consistent scoring threat on the Steelers for many seasons. Being able to kick indoors really helps him show off his big leg. This week Boswell heads to the thin air of Denver and we could see even more big kits.

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Questionable calls that almost decided the game against Atlanta

The Steelers were on the wrong end of a couple of awful calls on Sunday.

The Pittsburgh Steelers are no strangers to bad calls made by officials.  Some of these calls can decide a game if missed.  There were two calls this Sunday that would have shifted the game script if called correctly. 

George Pickens made a diving catch with 3 minutes 44 seconds remaining in the 3rd quarter.  Viewers could see that A.J. Terrell tried to touch Pickens down and missed, in which George Pickens got up and ran for around 10 yards more.  The referees, however, missed the call and claimed that Pickens was marked down back at the Atlanta 28-yard line. 

The referees’ presence was also felt on the defensive side of the ball.  With 38 seconds remaining in the 1st half of the game, T.J. Watt spectacularly timed the Atlanta Falcons snap and strip-sacked Kirk Cousins, which should have resulted in a turnover for the Steelers.  The referees, however, labeled this impressive feat of timing and patience an offsides penalty.  The very next play, Kirk Cousins hit tight end Kyle Pitts for a touchdown. 

The Steelers should not put themselves in positions where non-reviewable calls like these can decide the game.  As close as the Steelers win their games, the officials are bound to make or break a contest, one way or another. 

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George Pickens stepped up in a big way in regards to the Aiyuk ultimatum

The Steelers didn’t land Brandon Aiyuk but George Pickens played big against the Falcons.

Many would agree that the amount of time and effort that the Pittsburgh Steelers spent on the Brandon Aiyuk trade would create a disastrous scenario for the wide receiver room if the trade fell through. 

However, 30 minutes before the Steelers’ game on Sunday, sports reporter Jay Glazer reported that Brandon Aiyuk was given an ultimatum by San Fransico head coach Kyle Shanahan.  This ultimatum was given to him on the day he signed his extension.  He was told that he would need to decide between being traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers, or signing the 49ers final contract offer, and this needed to be chosen before the end of practice that day. 

While to some, this left a number-one-wide-receiver shaped hole on the roster, to George Pickens, it presented an opportunity to show his growth as a top receiver. 

George Pickens had an impressive week 1 debut, going head-to-head with an elite shutdown corner, A.J. Terrell, and still hauling in 6 catches for 85 yards in the Steelers regular-season opener against Atlanta.  George Pickens not only filled the void left by Aiyuk but will look to continue to build off of this strong start as the proven wide receiver for the Pittsburgh Steelers. 

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‘Wizard of Boz’ was the heart of the Steelers’ Week 1 victory over the Falcons

Chris Boswell remains the most consistent scoring threat on the Steelers.

The Wizard of Boz was back in regular-season shape this week in Atlanta. Pittsburgh Steelers kicker Chris Boswell started off his regular season campaign with a bang, or should I say, six of them. Boswell made Steelers history in the 18-10 win over the Falcons in Atlanta, becoming the first kicker in franchise history to hit three or more attempts from 50-plus yards. 

https://twitter.com/steelers/status/1832860238061441056?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

Boswell unfortunately plays in the same division as arguably the greatest kicker of all time, Justin Tucker. This results in Boswell’s efforts going more under the radar. However, after Sunday, perhaps it is time for the NFL to start putting respect on Boz’s name.

In Atlanta, he hit from 25, 40, 44, 51, 56 and 57 yards. Boswell will look to keep the momentum going in Denver for the Week 2 matchup against the Broncos.

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Justin Fields did nothing to ‘ Mason Rudolph’ the Steelers starting QB job

Justin Fields didn’t put any doubt in anyone’s minds that he is a better option than Russell Wilson.

Sunday was an absolutely perfect opportunity for Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Justin Fields to absolutely win the starting job over Russell Wilson. And he failed. Last season we saw Mason Rudolph come in for an injured Kenny Pickett and ineffective Mitch Trubisky and play so well he kept a healthy Pickett on the bench.

Despite getting the 18-10 win over the Atlanta Falcons, Fields was unable to get the Steelers into the end zone even once and Despite a few big plays looked like a guy who hadn’t spent all offseason as the team’s No. 1 quarterback.

There was really no excuse for Fields to play to tentatively and it just seemed like he was almost playing a little bitter. Perhaps he thought he should have been named the starter after the preseason and didn’t appreciate getting the call at the last minute. It’s hard to say but it isn’t hard to say he didn’t do enough to make it a legitimate quarterback competition assuming Russell Wilson is healthy next week.

Pittsburgh is back on the road next week with a 1-0 record and headed to Denver to take on the Broncos. Denver fell 26-20 to the Seattle Seahawks in Week One.

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Steelers LB T.J. Watt spoils Falcons’ gameplan to stop him

Contrary to what the Atlanta head coach said he’d do, TJ Watt wrecked the game in Steelers’ week 1 victory.

The buildup to the Pittsburgh Steelers and Atlanta Falcons game in week 1 was not without intrigue.  There was some drama surrounding the starting QB for the game, and if Tomlin was using this to his advantage.  The head coach for the Falcons, Raheem Morris, spoke on this idea, and one more concept that slid under the radar: stopping T. J. Watt from tearing into the Falcons.  

https://twitter.com/_MLFootball/status/1831448627576987740

If today’s game was an indication of the preparation that Morris gave the Atlanta Falcons, for T.J. Watt, only one response is appropriate: Yikes!  T.J. was dominant against the run, had Cousins under pressure all game, recovered a fumble, and finished off the game with a sack.

For all the talk about preparing for T.J., it did not show in Sunday’s game.  One could simply see the amount of effort that Kyle Pitts was using to assist in chipping T.J. all game: zero.

Regardless of whether or not Morris was truly determined to stop the former ‘Defensive Player of the Year’ or simply contain him, one thing was for certain on Sunday, T.J. Watt wrecked the game.

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Steelers week 1 takeaway: Defense dominates

Steelers week 1 takeaway: Defense dominates

Blitzberg was in full force for the Pittsburgh Steelers week 1 victory in Atlanta. Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins looked extremely uncomfortable, constantly under pressure from the Pittsburgh pass rush. 

The Falcons had one touchdown drive on Sunday and it was perhaps the only true noteworthy drive.  With the offense under constant duress, Kirk Cousins tossed two interceptions off pressures from Larry Ogunjobi and TJ Watt.

Watt had two potential strip-sack fumble recoveries called back by flags. One was an extremely questionable call and angered Steelers fans alike, on a terrible offsides call on Watt. However, the defense took the game out of the referees’ hands and put it into their own on Sunday.   

Watt’s consistent pressure and concluding sack on the day show that he should always belong in the conversation for the best defensive player in football. 

The Steelers’ defense held the Atlanta Falcons to 224 offensive yards and just a measly 54 yards in the second half.  The Steelers will look to build off this momentum as they head to Denver next Sunday. 

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Bad luck strikes Steelers special teams in win over Falcons

Steelers punter Cameron Johnston suffered a serious injury in Sunday’s win.

It’s been a long time since the Pittsburgh Steelers had a serious threat as a punter. That was all supposed to change this season with the addition of Cameron Johnston. Unfortunately, Johnston didn’t even make it through his first game as a Steeler.

Johnson suffered an apparent knee injury on Sunday in the win over the Atlanta Falcons. The Steelers won the game 18-10 but after the game, head coach Mike Tomlin didn’t seem encouraged about Johnston’s status.

“He appears to have a serious injury,” was all Tomlin said when asked about Johnson in the postgame press conference. If this injury is as bad as it seems, Pittsburgh will quickly be in the market for a new starting punter. Kicker Chris Boswell booted a 43-yard punt in place of Johnson in addition to his six huge field goals.

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Chris Boswell, Steelers defense carry offense to win over Falcons

The Steelers stuck to the formula against the Falcons and got the win.

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. The Pittsburgh Steelers offense sputters, the defense dominates and kicker Chris Boswell carries the team to a victory. It was an all-too-predictable formula for the Steelers as they found a way to get past the Atlanta Falcons 18-10 in Week 1.

The preseason wasn’t great for Boswell, but he made everyone forget that by going 6-for-6 on his field goals, including three kicks beyond 50 yards. This is the first time in franchise history a kicker has made three fields goals of 50 yards or more in a single game.

Defensively, it was all about that pass rush. As the game wore on, the Steelers defensive front wore the Falcons down and ended up sacking Kirk Cousins twice and hitting him seven times. Edge rusher T.J. Watt had one sack that counted and two strip-sacks that were negated by penalties. Watt also had two tackles for loss and recovered a fumble.

The Steelers offense was held under 300 yards and didn’t get a touchdown. This isn’t acceptable, and it was hard to watch and not think of former offensive coordinator Matt Canada and his plodding offense of a year ago.

Fortunately, the Steelers got just enough out of running back Najee Harris (70 rushing yards) and George Pickens (85 receiving yards) to help Boswell put up all the points.

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