PITTSBURGH - The Atlanta Falcons left Sunday with a loss, but they also left with something they badly needed: evidence that their revamped pass rush can still cause problems.
Coming into Week 1, there were real questions about how this front would hold up. Almost every piece from the record-setting 2025 group is gone, suspended, or injured, and Atlanta had to piece together production from a bunch of new names. Against Aaron Rodgers and the Steelers, that group answered well enough to keep the Falcons encouraged.
Za’Darius Smith was the headline act. In his first game since a sudden retirement last season, he made his presence felt in just 16 snaps, piling up two key sacks and another tackle for loss. One sack shut down the end of the first half, and the other helped the Falcons get the ball back late.
“I think Z (Za’Darius Smith) gave us some really good reps out there,” head coach Kevin Stefanski said after the game. “Bralen Trice was out there, and Yasir Abdullah, who we recently acquired.
It’s a lot of new guys that we’re figuring out our roles for them. I’m really proud of them and their effort in a bunch of their roles.”
Smith was the most recognizable name in the mix, but he was hardly the only one making noise. The Falcons hit Rodgers six times and pressured him 14 times, with the rush coming from all over the formation.
Jared Ivey and Samson Ebukam rotated in, while Trice - now in his third NFL season - saw his first action as a Falcon. The former third-round pick didn’t make the active roster, but he was elevated from the practice squad for Week 1 and finished with a tackle.
Atlanta’s bigger interior bodies also showed up. Maason Smith created push inside, Brandon Dorlus moved around the front, and LaCale London continued to flash the kind of versatility the Falcons think can make him more than just a run-stopper. Cameron Thomas added a forced fumble, and the group did a strong job against Pittsburgh’s ground game, holding the Steelers to 58 yards on 18 carries.
That matters for Jeff Ulbrich, who wants to get home with four rushers. Atlanta blitzed on 35.6% of its defensive snaps last season, the second-highest rate in the NFL, but Sunday brought a different look. The Falcons blitzed on just 11.6% of their plays, fourth-lowest in the league before Monday night, while still posting a pressure rate of 32.6%.
If that heavier interior can keep producing and Smith plus the edge group can keep finishing, Ulbrich won’t need to lean so hard on extra bodies.
The secondary fed off that pressure, too. A.J.
Terrell Jr. said the back end and the front worked in sync against Rodgers, and the numbers backed that up. Pittsburgh’s only touchdowns came after Cooper Rush interceptions: one returned by T.J.
Watt for a touchdown and another that set the Steelers up with a short field. Outside of those possessions, Atlanta allowed only six points.
“I feel like our guys got after Aaron (Rodgers) a few times during the game while my back was turned,” cornerback A.J. Terrell Jr. said.
“I didn’t feel like I was back there scrambling for days, but I feel like we played hand-in-hand defense. D-Line did their part; we did our part.”
That kind of balance is going to be the key for Atlanta, especially without two of its most important players, James Pearce Jr. and Jalon Walker. If the front can keep creating pressure without the blitz and the secondary can stay aggressive because of it, the defense may have a real formula.
The Falcons still have plenty to clean up after another Week 1 loss, and the offense didn’t do its part. But the pass rush? That looked like one problem Atlanta might not need to worry about nearly as much.
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