The Steelers got the result they wanted in Week 1, but it came with a lot more bruising than anybody in Pittsburgh probably expected. What looked like a straightforward home win over Atlanta turned into a 20-13 grinder, the kind of game that leaves you with more questions than celebration.
Still, the box score and the tape both handed out a mixed bag: some real reasons to feel better, and a few warning signs that were impossible to miss.
Aaron Rodgers set the tone early, and that tone was heavy on the pass. Pittsburgh threw the ball 26 times in the first half alone, and Rodgers finished the game with 40 attempts.
He completed 14 of those first-half throws for 131 yards and a touchdown, and the overall picture was clear enough - he kept looking either downfield or underneath, with not much in between. For a team that finished 2025 with the 17th-most pass attempts in the league, Week 1 suggested that number could climb a lot higher in 2026.
Whether Mike McCarthy keeps leaning that way after an offense that never really got rolling is the next question.
That pass-heavy approach didn’t leave much room for the backfield to matter. Jaylen Warren and Rico Dowdle were barely used as runners, combining for just 18 carries and 61 yards.
They did get work in the passing game, but not with much efficiency. If this offense is going to improve on last season, it needs those two backs to help the Steelers stay on schedule and make life easier for Rodgers.
Instead, it looked like Pittsburgh never really committed to that plan.
DK Metcalf’s debut as the clear top option did not answer the biggest question hanging over this receiving group. He led the team with 10 targets, but finished with only four catches for 40 yards.
There were dropped passes. There were two offensive pass interference penalties.
There was plenty of frustration. It was the kind of outing that reinforced the concern that he’s being asked to play like an alpha when he looks more like a No. 2 receiver.
The hope now has to be that the rest of the passing game starts taking some of that burden off him as the season goes on.
On the other side of the ball, T.J. Watt delivered the kind of performance that stops a conversation cold.
After some worry that he was slipping from the dominant level fans had gotten used to in 2025, he came out and looked like himself again. Watt recorded two sacks, three tackles for loss, and a wild interception that he took back for a touchdown - the score that ended up deciding the game.
It was just one week against a struggling offense, but it was exactly the kind of response Pittsburgh needed to see.
The Steelers’ run defense also held up better than the raw yardage total might suggest. Atlanta finished with 120 rushing yards, but only 3.9 yards per carry.
Bijan Robinson accounted for 173 total yards, though only 83 of those came on 21 rushing attempts. Pittsburgh did allow a few runs to break loose, but the overall effort against one of the league’s better backs was solid enough for Patrick Graham to feel encouraged.
And then there was Payton Wilson, who looked like a different player from the one who faded in and out of the picture last season. After a rough second year that included coverage issues and uneven run defense, he was all over the field against Atlanta. Wilson piled up 13 total tackles and two tackles for loss, bringing more physicality and more activity than Pittsburgh got from him a year ago.
In Other News...
Terry Bradshaw Just Said What Steelers Fans Are Thinking About This Era
Terry Bradshaw had the kind of blunt take Steelers fans could relate to on FOX NFL Sunday, saying the one thing he was most interested in this season was watching Mike McCarthy in Pittsburgh. Bradshaw pointed to McCarthys track record with Aaron Rodgers and the simple reality of a new coach taking over after Mike Tomlin, making it clear this was the change he wanted to watch closest.
Bradshaw did not try to hide his lean toward the Steelers while the rest of the studio crew was previewing the NFL slate. For Pittsburgh fans, the interest is obvious: any coaching switch invites questions about style, quarterback play and whether a new voice can shift the direction of an era, and Bradshaws comments captured that curiosity without pretending the transition will be easy to sort out. [Read more 🡒]
T.J. Watt Just Answered The Steelers Question Fans Feared Most
T.J. Watt opened the season the way the Steelers needed him to, flashing the kind of disruptive play that can change a game in a hurry. Against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 1, he piled up two sacks, two quarterback hits, three tackles for loss and even took an interception back for a pick-six, giving Pittsburgh exactly the sort of defensive spark that has long been central to its identity.
For a defense built around pressure up front, Watts early showing mattered as much for reassurance as it did for the win itself. There had been questions after last season about whether he could still be the same dominant force, but this was a reminder that he remains the player opponents have to account for every snap, and that the Steelers ceiling on defense still runs through him. [Read more 🡒]
Mike Tomlin Just Gave Steelers Fans Another Reason To Laugh At Cleveland
Mike Tomlin was back in the spotlight on Sunday, and not because of anything happening on the sideline. The former Steelers coach, now working as an NBC analyst, took a light shot at Cleveland during the broadcast after the Browns fell to the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 1, punctuating the moment with a line borrowed from JuJu Smith-Schuster: "the Browns are the Browns."
For Steelers fans, it was exactly the kind of familiar jab that still lands. Cleveland's rough showing in the opener only added to the punchline, and the Browns will have little time to stew before turning to an upcoming matchup with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, where they will be trying to clean up the same issues that made the first week so painful. [Read more 🡒]