T.J. Watt's late pick-6 pushes sluggish Steelers past injury-laden Falcons 20-13
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PITTSBURGH -- T.J. Watt jumped in front of a pass from Cooper Rush and returned it 35 yards for a touchdown to break open a tight game as the Pittsburgh Steelers began the Mike McCarthy era with a 20-13 win over Atlanta on Sunday.
Pittsburgh was hardly dominant in McCarthy's debut as the coach of his hometown team, in his reunion with Aaron Rodgers. The star quarterback and his offense sputtered for long stretches thanks to a steady stream of dropped passes, penalties and missed opportunities that allowed the Falcons to hang around.
In the end, it didn't matter. Atlanta, with Rush filling in for injured Tua Tagovailoa and Michael Penix Jr., could muster little beyond what running back Bijan Robinson could provide to spoil the debut of coach Kevin Stefanski.
Robinson accounted for 173 of the Falcons' 238 total yards, but Rush had a pair of ill-thrown picks after getting tossed into the mix late in the week when Tagovailoa's back flared up. Rush was 12 of 22 for 143 yards with a touchdown to Robinson while the Steelers turned both interceptions into touchdowns.
The most damaging came early in the fourth quarter with Atlanta trailing by three. Rush tried to flip a pass to Robinson in the flat, only to have Watt snag it before chugging the other way.
The four-time All-Pro, coming off an underwhelming season by his standards, slipped on the turf halfway through his return before leaping to his feet quickly and racing to the end zone for the second score of his 10-year career.
Rodgers began his 22nd and final season by throwing for 221 yards and a touchdown to tight end Pat Freiermuth but was hampered by a couple of drops by DK Metcalf and a running game that did little to take pressure off him.
The Steelers hope McCarthy, the architect of high-powered offenses in Green Bay with Rodgers and in Dallas, can do the same in Pittsburgh. It didn't start out that way, with a tight, choppy game that recalled so many the Steelers played in during Mike Tomlin's nearly two-decade tenure.
Like so many of those games under Tomlin, Pittsburgh found a way behind a defense that thrived even with cornerback Joey Porter Jr. inactive.
Porter missed most of training camp with a back injury set amid stalled contract negotiations with the team. McCarthy said Porter was still “ramping up” to play, but Porter himself admitted he was unsure whether he'd play if he couldn't come to terms on an extension.
While Porter's status is uncertain, Pittsburgh's defense looked capable of keeping the Steelers in games while the offense figures it out.
Falcons cornerback A.J. Terrell was hurt breaking up a pass in the third quarter. He missed a series but did return. Defensive tackle De'Shawn Hand exited with a knee injury in the first half and did not return.
Falcons: host NFC South rival Carolina next Sunday.
Steelers: head to New England next Sunday.
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