Postgame reactions, commentary and analysis following the Steelers' 20-13 win against the Falcons:
Humility over hype
When several players and even coaches were asked about expectations for this defense in recent weeks, the consistent response was something along the lines of just wait and see.
Was that genuine uncertainty of how all the pieces would fit together, or just a quiet confidence for a veteran unit entering a new season with a new defensive coordinator in Patrick Graham?
"Quiet confidence," Cameron Heyward said. "I don't think we really listened to the outside noise. We just trust our technique, we trust what we do, because we're consistent in our work."
And the Steelers were consistently disruptive Sunday against Cooper Rush. The five oldest starters on the defense — Heyward, Jalen Ramsey, T.J. Watt, Jamel Dean and Alex Highsmith — combined for 4 sacks, 5 tackles for loss, 5 passes defended, 2 forced fumbles and Watt's interception return for a touchdown.
"That's him. That's T.J. Everybody knows that's T.J.," said linebacker Patrick Queen. "I saw some talk about him online. Last year he gets hurt, deals with some adversity, and everybody's trying to turn the page on him. I'm just happy for him."
Third first one's a charm
For the third year in a row, tight end Pat Freiermuth reeled in the Steelers' first reception of the regular season. He was unaware of that factoid.
But this time around, it was Freiermuth who caught the first touchdown of the season after Ben Skowronek did it in 2025. It's the last first touchdown for Aaron Rodgers, too, on top of that.
"It felt great, honestly," Freiermuth said. "I was happy with getting the win, and obviously I was able to be a part of that. It felt nice being part of the game plan again."
Getting plays schemed up for you is fun for any pass-catcher, of course, and Freiermuth caught all five of his targets for 46 yards. But the play he scored on was vintage Rodgers, diagnosing the defense, extending the play with his feet and then finding No. 88 just inside the end line.
"I knew, backside, they were doubling DK [Metcalf]," Rodgers explained postgame. "I felt like I might be able to move and allow for some second-reaction stuff. And as I looked outside, I could feel Pat whirling around to the left, so I was trying to hold my eyes to the left a little bit longer to give him a chance. But Pat's got such great instincts, and he made some nice plays today."
Aggressive mentality
Speaking of Rodgers, that might not even have been his best throw to Freiermuth in the opener. How about with 23 seconds left in the first half, 2nd-and-10 from his own 20, when Rodgers decided to try to thread the needle to Freiermuth 20 yards downfield — and did it.
Rodgers fit it in with three defenders in the mix. That end-of-half heave didn't lead to anything, but the mindset alone from Rodgers is intriguing. On that throw and others, the arm looked very live, at age 42, to say the least. He was airing it out, attacking the middle of the field and ad-libbing when needed.
We know this is his last hurrah, so perhaps he doesn't want to leave any arrows behind when he hangs up his quiver. Rodgers finished with 221 yards while completing 24 of 40 attempts. He only hit that 40 number twice all of last season.
"Nah, keep throwing it," Rodgers laughed when asked if the Steelers may need to run it more going forward. "Keep throwing it, man."
Fitting in briskly
Freiermuth wasn't the only Penn State alumnus to make a splash Sunday. Jaquan Brisker, a Pittsburgh native who played at nearby Gateway High School, made his presence felt in his first game back home.
After spending his first four seasons with the Bears, Brisker signed a one-year deal in free agency. He didn't play in any of the preseason games, so this was his first time suiting up in black and gold at Acrisure Stadium, and he picked off Rush early in the second quarter.
"It was amazing," Brisker said. "It's crazy because I think last year I dreamed of this moment. I'm so serious. I didn't know what team I was going to be on, but I literally had a dream of a pick in the middle of the field, and it came today."
Brisker couldn't help but smile at the crowd's reaction to him tallying the Steelers' first takeaway of the season. Yeah, the new guy from Chicago who's actually from here will fit in just fine with the turnover culture.
Welcome to the show
The full-circle moment for Brisker was one thing, but he's played in the NFL before. Sunday was the debut for another Western Pennsylvania product in rookie seventh-round pick Eli Heidenreich.
His journey from Mt. Lebanon High School to the Steelers went through four grueling years at Navy, but it all paid off when he made the 53-man roster, and certainly when he returned two kickoffs for 47 yards.
"It's absolutely exciting," Heidenreich said. "Me and Kaden [Wetjen] were talking about how it's a big chance to help out the offense with field position. But the big thing we always emphasize is ball security, making sure we're getting out to a good yard-marker and making plays happen, but making sure we're protecting the football, too."
Heidenreich is taking it one game at a time, but his postgame T-shirt had four Lombardi Trophies on it. He picked it up from a vintage store in town. In addition to the hardware, the front had an image of legendary head coach Chuck Noll with "Hall of Famer" on it and the back reads "It's a 'Burgh thing." That's fitting.
The captains' circle
Head coach Mike McCarthy's preference is to have weekly captains rather than season-long captains. It's a minor tweak to the Steelers' process in the grand scheme of things, but it wasn't a minor moment for all three who walked to the 50-yard line for the coin toss Sunday.
Sure, there was Heyward, the longest-tenured Steeler, and Rodgers, the longest-tenured player in the entire league, but joining them in the circle was second-year linebacker Carson Bruener. Bruener effectively was chosen as the special teams captain for Week 1, which he found out late in the week.
"It means everything," Bruener said. "To me, it shows all the hard work I put in this offseason. I continue to challenge myself. Rookie year, I did well on special teams, but I still need to elevate my game. There's a lot I need to improve. But it was a huge honor. It felt good to go out there and kind of lead the guys on special teams.
"At the same time, we've got Ben Skowronek, we've got Jack Sawyer, we've got Cole Holcomb. Anyone could be in that leadership role. I feel like we'll have a lot of special teams captains throughout the whole year and this is just one game."
