T.J. Watt didn’t ease into the new season. He detonated it.
Early in the fourth quarter Sunday at Acrisure Stadium, the Steelers outside linebacker jumped a quick throw from Cooper Rush, snagged the ball at the Atlanta 35 and took it the rest of the way for the first pick-six of his NFL career. The touchdown stretched Pittsburgh’s lead to 20-10 and helped seal a 20-13 win over the Falcons in Mike McCarthy’s first regular-season game as Steelers head coach.
The play started with Rush trying to get the ball out fast to Bijan Robinson in the backfield. Watt read it, stepped in front of the pass and, after hitting the turf untouched, got up and finished the return, according to NBC Sports.
FOX Sports listed the return at 35 yards. ClutchPoints posted on X: “TJ WATT PICK-SIX OFF COOPER RUSH”
TJ WATT PICK-SIX OFF COOPER RUSH 😱
Steelers extend their lead over the Falcons by 10 early in the 4th quarter! pic.twitter.com/yJCs6Glteu
- ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) September 13, 2026
Watt’s afternoon went well beyond that one snap. NBC Sports credited him with two sacks, three tackles for loss and the interception. It was his second career defensive touchdown, after a previous score on a fumble return.
Atlanta was already fighting uphill before Watt’s return changed the game’s shape. The Falcons ruled Tua Tagovailoa out with an oblique injury suffered in Thursday practice and kept Michael Penix Jr. inactive as he continues to work back from last season’s torn ACL, according to Athlon Sports. That left Rush, signed in July, to start with undrafted rookie Jack Strand behind him, as The Washington Post reported Friday.
Rush was also dealing with back spasms Saturday, but he still got the nod, per reporting that cited NFL insider Adam Schefter in the Times of India. Against Pittsburgh’s pass rush, the situation never really settled down. Rush finished 12 of 22 for 143 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions, according to the Falcons’ game center.
The pick-six wasn’t a busted coverage so much as a pressure win. Watt closed in, sat on the easy outlet and punished a quarterback who didn’t have much time to work through the rest of the play. Robinson still made his presence felt with 83 rushing yards and eight catches for 90 yards and a score, but Atlanta never reached the red zone, per ESPN.
Pittsburgh didn’t exactly light it up offensively, either, but it did enough and got the kind of defensive swing play that changes everything. Chris Boswell opened the scoring with a 43-yard field goal.
Atlanta answered after a Jaylen Warren fumble, with Rush hitting Robinson for a 23-yard touchdown and a 7-3 lead. Boswell brought it back to 7-6, then Aaron Rodgers found Pat Freiermuth from six yards out for a 13-7 halftime edge, according to NBC Sports.
Nick Folk cut into it with a 51-yard field goal late in the third quarter. Then came Watt’s touchdown to push it to 20-10.
Folk added a 43-yarder after that, and Pittsburgh closed it out. Rodgers went 24 of 40 for 221 yards with the Freiermuth touchdown and no interceptions, per the Falcons’ box score.
The Steelers managed just 58 rushing yards as a team, which made the defense’s work even more important.
Scoring played out like this: Boswell’s 43-yard field goal at 8:30 of the first quarter, Robinson’s 23-yard touchdown catch at 1:13, Boswell’s 28-yard field goal at 12:28 of the second, Freiermuth’s 6-yard touchdown catch at 10:39, Folk’s 51-yard field goal at 1:50 of the third, Watt’s 35-yard interception return at 14:05 of the fourth, and Folk’s 43-yard field goal in the fourth.
The weather matched the mood in Pittsburgh: a light rain shower and 74-degree conditions over Acrisure Stadium, per theScore. CBS Pittsburgh noted that McCarthy, a Greenfield native hired in January after Mike Tomlin stepped down, was making his regular-season home debut on the sideline.
For Watt, though, the bigger story has been the same one he’s carried for months. On the “Deebo & Joe” podcast, he said he has “not won a freaking playoff game” and called that unacceptable, Sportsnet Pittsburgh reported ahead of Week 1. In a July 2025 interview on “In Depth with Graham Bensinger,” Watt told NBC Sports that winning a Super Bowl motivates him and that going without a playoff win is “absolutely unacceptable.”
The numbers back up the frustration. Watt has played five postseason games and lost all five, per his Pro-Football-Reference playoff log. Pittsburgh’s last playoff win came after the 2016 season, before Watt arrived.
Sunday didn’t change that history. But it did show exactly the kind of defense Watt wants to anchor: pressure that forces a mistake, then a game-breaking finish the other way.
One Week 1 win under McCarthy is just a beginning. For Watt, that’s nowhere near enough.
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Falcons Let A Winnable Opener Slip Away For One Big Reason
For stretches in the opener, the Falcons had every reason to think they could leave Pittsburgh with a win. They stayed in the game long enough to make it a one-score fight, and the result was still there for the taking until T.J. Watt turned the afternoon with a game-changing interception return touchdown that swung the momentum and helped the Steelers pull away for a 20-13 win.
Aaron Rodgers finished 24 of 40 for 221 yards and a touchdown, while Cooper Rush threw for 143 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions, but the defining play was the one Atlanta could not afford to give away. Instead of opening the season at 1-0, the Falcons head home at 0-1 with Carolina next, already searching for the cleaner finish that might have made this a very different postgame conversation. [Read more 🡒]
Falcons Enter Week 1 Already Fighting To Keep Offense Together
The Falcons are heading into Week 1 with an offense already patched together, as injuries to Tua Tagovailoa and Michael Penix Jr. have pushed Cooper Rush into the starting quarterback role against the Steelers. With the depth chart thinned out in more than one spot, Atlanta has even had to get creative with roster coverage, naming Olamide Zaccheaus as an emergency third-string quarterback and running back.
Kevin Stefanski is clearly aware of the balancing act ahead, urging Rush to lean on Bijan Robinson and the other playmakers around him as the Falcons try to keep the offense functional early. It is a reminder that before the first snap is even taken, Atlanta is already dealing with the kind of Week 1 uncertainty teams usually hope to avoid. [Read more 🡒]
Falcons Pass Rush Suddenly Puts Cameron Thomas Under Real Pressure
Cameron Thomas has gone from camp standout to Week 1 starter on the edge, giving the Falcons a clearer answer opposite Brandon Dorlus as they open the season. Atlanta is leaning on a rotation at pass rusher because injuries and suspensions have thinned that group, and Thomas earned the job by putting together a strong training camp.
Za'Darius Smith is still part of the mix, but he is working his way back into football shape after stepping away last season, which makes the early workload around him more interesting. For Thomas, the chance is real and immediate, and the way Atlanta handles that edge rotation will say plenty about how ready it thinks this pass rush is right now. [Read more 🡒]