The Pittsburgh Steelers rode six Chris Boswell field goals and a stellar performance by the defense to an 18-10 win over Atlanta in the season opener. Here are my observations from the game.
Offense
-I think Jimmy Johnson on the FOX Halftime show nailed it with Justin Fields (17/23 156 yards). Keep him in the shotgun. He just doesn’t look comfortable under center. That said, Fields had a mistake-free game and that is the most important part of his first start as aa Steeler.
-Najee Harris (20 carries 70 yards) had a very typical day for him. There weren’t any big runs and there were some that went nowhere, but he ground out a lot of tough yards.
-The ‘Number Two Wide Receiver’ concerns won’t go away after today’s win. Calvin Austin III and Van Jefferson combined for 2 catches and 8 yards. It didn’t stop Fields from targeting George Pickens though. He caught six balls for 85 yards including one that set up a Chris Boswell field goal at the end of the half.
-Fresh off his big contract, Pat Freiermuth caught four balls for 27 yards. Darnell Washington and MyCole Pruitt combined for two receptions and 14 yards.
-At first glance, the Arthur Smith offense needs to get rid of some of these “East-West” running plays. They just aren’t there and the OL struggled to get the edge.
-The offensive line had exactly the type of game I expected them to have. There were some good moments and there were some bad ones. I’m looking forward to watching the All-22 to get a little more into their play. Way too many negative runs and I’m sure Mike Tomlin will be discussing that.
Defense
-I’m not sure any of us saw Payton Wilson getting as much action in week one as he did. I don’t have the snap totals yet but he was absolutely a factor in coverage and getting sideline to sideline against the run.
-What a fumble recovery by T.J. Watt (1 sack, 2 TFL) on the botched snap. He literally beat three Falcons to the ball and all three were closer. His stats won’t show it because two sacks and two forced fumbles were negated by penalties but he was downright dominate at times.
-What a terrific tackle by Beanie Bishop to keep the clock running on the Falcons’ last drive.
-Terrific interceptions by DeShone Elliott and Donte Jackson. Jackson should have had two as one was right in his hands in the first quarter.
-The defensive line had a few moments of ugliness but overall they were really good today. They gave up just 226 yards total to the Falcons. Cam Heyward had four stops in his first action of the year.
Special Teams
-Not much you can say about Chris Boswell. 6/6 including three makes of over 50 yards. He was the offense today.
-Shoutout to Scotty Miller for filling in for Cam Johnston on Boswell’s final field goal.
-I’ve yet to hear about Cam Johnston’s status following his injury. Needless to say, the injury looked pretty bad. Hope he’s OK.
Officiating
-T.J. Watt had every right to be pissed off after his strip sack and recovery was taken away. The league lets offensive tackles false start routinely yet Watt times his jumps perfectly and gets flagged. Not to mention the center was bobbing his head moving the ball.
-George Pickens was ruled down by contact after his deep third quarter reception. The replay clearly showed no one touched him. Awful call especially since Pickens got up and gained more yards.
Coaching
-With a 15-10 lead in the fourth quarter and facing a fourth and one, Mike Tomlin chose to go for it inside the 15-yard line. A field goal would have pushed the lead to eight points. I didn’t mind going for it, but why the need to hurry to the line and sneak it? There were about seven minutes left and the clock was running. Thought we should have taken our time there.
Next Week: The Steelers will be in Denver to play the Broncos.
