FLOWERY BRANCH - The Falcons are headed to Pittsburgh to open the 2026 regular season, and the strange part is this: Atlanta knows plenty about the Steelers, but not this version of them.
That’s what makes Week 1 such a tricky launch point for the Falcons. They’re bringing in a new look of their own, with a revamped coaching staff and front office, but Pittsburgh has gone through major changes too.
For the first time since 2007, the Steelers will have someone other than Mike Tomlin on the sideline. Mike McCarthy is taking over for his first official game with the team, and he’ll do it with Brian Angelico as offensive coordinator and Patrick Graham as defensive coordinator.
Even by Week 1 standards, there’s a lot to sort through. New rookies, new veterans in new places, and new schemes across the league always make opening weekend messy. But when a team has changed as much as Pittsburgh has, the homework gets even harder.
The Steelers still have plenty of recognizable names from last season’s AFC North championship group. Aaron Rodgers, Cameron Hayward, and T.J.
Watt remain in the mix, and the roster also added pieces such as Rico Dowdle and Michael Pittman Jr. That mix of familiar stars and new faces leaves Atlanta trying to piece together what Sunday will actually look like once the ball is kicked off.
Falcons coach Kevin Stefanski addressed that reality Monday, while also making clear he doesn’t want his players drowning in film.
“In Week 1 of the season, I think coaches are excited when it goes to Week 2, and you have tape to watch of what it's going to look like, because it's impossible to watch all that tape and prepare for all of that,” he said. “Now, do we - because we're crazy people - watch a lot of it?
Yes. But it's our job to make sure we give our players a plan and then understand as much as it is about your opponent - who you respect and is a great opponent, it's also about you and how you perform, how you execute on what you’ve been working so hard for over the past few months.”
There is some familiarity on the coaching side. New Falcons offensive coordinator Tommy Rees has gone up against Graham twice over the last two seasons, and he was the primary play-caller for the Browns in last season’s matchup. That offense put up 24 points in a win, though it only produced 270 total yards.
Still, both sides are walking into this game with new personnel and new ways to deploy them. That means in-game adjustments may matter as much as any scouting report.
“You’ve got to find ways to stay efficient and stay effective,” Rees said. “We're familiar with the personnel and how he wants to use the personnel; that's a challenge. We’ve got to be great in-game at making adjustments and getting a beat on how they want to play us.”
The Falcons’ staff also has a long track record of seeing the Steelers from the other sideline, especially from their Cleveland days. Stefanski has been just under .500 against them since 2020 at 6-7, which means he knows the personnel well enough to understand the challenge.
Atlanta’s defense will have its hands full with Rodgers and the group around him. Jeff Ulbrich didn’t downplay the task.
“Obviously, he's (Rodgers) one of the best quarterbacks that has ever played this game, and still playing at a very high level,” Falcons defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich said. “On top of all of that, I think he's got an arsenal of weapons at his disposal as well: the receiving corps, the tight end group, the two running backs. Then the way that, historically, Coach McCarthy has featured guys with very specific roles and skill sets, it's going to be a great challenge.”
On the other side, Rees will have to account for Watt, Hayward, Alex Highsmith, and the rest of Pittsburgh’s pressure package. Even with some age on that group, Rees said the edge remains obvious.
“I mean, they've gotten older, but they're certainly still very effective,” Rees said. “They're high motor, high skill level, high intellect.
They know what they're doing out there. They’ve played a lot of football.”
So the Falcons have a decent handle on who the Steelers are. What they don’t yet know is how this Steelers team will actually play once the season starts for real. That’s the Week 1 problem in a nutshell, and it leaves Atlanta focused on the one thing it can control.
“You need to make sure that you have your own stuff in order,” he said, “and make sure that you're performing at a high level, because your execution is on point based on all the work we've put in since April.”
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