With the NFL releasing the full schedule this evening, leaks are coming out fast and furious now. This morning several games on the Atlanta Falcons’ slate were leaked, including a Week 1 road trip against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Pittsburgh is an interesting opponent to begin the season for new head coach Kevin Stefanski and his team. Let’s review what we know – and don’t know about the Steelers at this point in the offseason.
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Let’s start with what we know. At the top, the Steelers’ made a stunning change at head coach after Mike Tomlin decided to step away after 19 successful seasons at the helm. They decided to replace him with Mike McCarthy, who won a Super Bowl with the Green Bay Packers in 2011. McCarthy’s last stop was with the Dallas Cowboys, where he won 12 games three seasons in a row but couldn’t get past the divisional round of the playoffs. He was fired after finishing 7-10 in 2024 and was out of the league last year.
On the field, the guy that the Falcons need to worry about most is still outside linebacker T.J. Watt, who may be slowing down but still managed to post seven sacks, 19 quarterback hits and 10 tackles for a loss in 14 games last season. Alex Highsmith actually managed to out-produce Watt though, posting a team-high 9.5 sacks in 13 games. Either way, Pittsburgh’s always-potent pass rush represents the biggest challenge on this side of the ball.
Offensively, things are now run through former Seattle Seahawks star receiver DK Metcalf, who led the Steelers with 850 yards and six touchdowns last season. The run game is headed by Jaylen Warren, who put up 958 yards and six scores on the ground. Rico Dowdle is now their primary backup and a superb value at RB2.
The real story is what we don’t know – who will be starting at quarterback for the Steelers in Week 1. Pittsburgh used a third-round draft pick on Penn State’s Drew Allar, but apparently the plan is hoping and praying that Aaron Rodgers will decide to return for another year, despite his last collaboration with McCarthy having ended rather messily.
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The Steelers would be much better off developing Allar as much as they can and stop trying one-year bandaids at quarterback, but it is what it is. If Rodgers decides to do something else – like joining a Manosphere podcast – then the Steelers would likely be starting Mason Rudolph in Week 1, who would likely qualify as the worst QB1 in the NFL to begin the season. In that case, the Falcons should probably be considered road favorites.
We will keep an eye on Rodgers’ status throughout the offseason until he makes a decision. Odds for this game should be released shortly after the schedule release later this evening…
NOTE: Falcons games listed below are unofficial.
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Week 1: At Pittsburgh Steelers
This article originally appeared on Falcons Wire: NFL schedule puts Falcons on the road against Steelers to start season