Rolling and tumbling: T.J. Watt made the play of the game with a 35-yard interception return for a touchdown on the second snap of the fourth quarter. As a wide rusher, Watt reached up and snared the Cooper Rush pass in the backfield and ran 5 yards before falling down. He rolled, got back up, and took it the rest of the way along with escorts Keeanu Benton, Jaquan Brisker, and Payton Wilson. The touchdown gave the Steelers a 20-10 lead on their way to a 20-13 win.
"That's a highlight play you'll be watching the rest of your life," said head coach Mike McCarthy.
Watt finished the game with 4 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, 2 sacks and the pick-six that put the game away.
"We were just talking, literally seconds before, how great of a game he was having and what an impact he's had," said quarterback Aaron Rodgers. "And we were laughing about something that happened in practice this week involving him, and then that happens. And then he falls down and gets up and I'm thinking they're just running off because he's gotten tagged. I didn't realize he even scored. What an incredible, incredible play."
"The ability to get up and finish it was incredible," said McCarthy. "It was a great finish by the whole defense, and the momentum swing that came with that, that was obviously huge. That was clearly the biggest play in the game."
It was Watt's second career touchdown in the regular season. He also became the second player (Julius Peppers) since sacks became an official stat in 1982 to record 100+ sacks and 10+ interceptions in a career. Watt has a franchise-record 117 sacks and 10 interceptions.
"I was a tight end in college," Watt explained when asked about his proclivity to intercept passes. "I don't know. I don't do JUGS. I just try to, in practice, tip passes as much as I can, just trying to be as ball-aware as possible."
Was he surprised he wasn't touched when he fell early in the return?
"Yeah, I think it was Nu [Benton] that was like, 'Get up, get up,' because I had no idea where I was. I had no bearing at all. I'm sure the fall didn't look too graceful, but glad someone told me to get up and keep running."
Robin to his Batman: The dynamic duo of Watt and Alex Highsmith combined to make all four Steelers sacks, with Highsmith getting his first sack on the defense's initial third down, and his second sack on the defense's final third down. Highsmith's sacks combined to push the Falcons back 16 yards and forced punts both times.
"Alex had a heck of a game," said Watt. "I told him, 'Man, I'm not surprised by your performance today at all.' He had a heck of a game. Obviously [Cameron Heyward] has a lot of pass breakups (3), Brisk with the pick, Jalen [Ramsey] with the forced fumble, you had [Patrick Queen] and then [Payton Wilson] flying around inside, too. I think there's a lot of depth to this defense, and there are a lot of guys that can make a lot of plays."
Hometown ball-ing: McCarthy, the hometown kid who returned to coach his childhood favorite team, won his opener as Steelers coach and called it "a great feeling, without a doubt."
The emotions of the opening-day win were cemented when Rodgers presented McCarthy with the game ball.
"First team ball, first win, so it's obviously a special moment," McCarthy said. "Really appreciate the guys, appreciate Aaron and the kind words. It's time to move on and get team victories from here on. I'm not one for attention, so the homecoming has been great. Just glad to get this one under our belt."
"We all know how special this city is to Coach and this team is to Coach," said Watt. "To be able to have him grow up just down the road from our practice facility, to have his first win as a Steeler, is a pretty cool moment, and it was kind of cool Aaron got to give him the game ball."
"It meant a lot," said Rodgers. "Mike has had a lot of wins, but it's always special when it's the first one at a place, and extra special when it's the team you grew up cheering for, and you grew up just on the other side of the river from the facility, your parents are still living in town. Super special to be able to do that. I was really, honestly, looking forward to that today as much as anything."
The Darnell show: Watt made the play of the game, but tight end Darnell Washington cemented the win with a third-and-3 catch-and-run for 15 yards and a first down with 2:28 left in a seven-point game.
Rodgers took the snap, dropped back, and rolled left as Washington was running toward the left sideline. Rodgers threw the short pass, Washington caught it, and then – as has become his style – drove a defender to the ground with a vicious stiff-arm to free himself for the rumbling run to the Pittsburgh 44. It was followed by a 9-yard run by Jaylen Warren for another first down, which allowed Rodgers to take three kneel-downs to run out the clock.
"The Darnell Show," is how Rodgers described it.
"I loved the call," Rodgers said. "Mike and I actually talked about that call two days ago, where we like this call, and I said, 'I love it in four-minute.' I said, 'The Y [tight end] is almost always open. When he called it in formation, I was like, 'Oh, yeah.' It kind of played out how it usually does. Pat [Freiermuth] comes in motion, he's covering the flat, here comes the big fella across there, Just got to give him a little space, and great things happen."
Taking shots: McCarthy said he's been impressed with Rodgers' downfield throws during training camp and practices, "because it usually takes some time to get those shot plays, those downfield throws, the field posts, the 45 yards on the numbers, and things like that."
Rodgers' longest completion of the opener went for 28 yards to Michael Pittman Jr., but he felt the Steelers came close to hitting on several others. His coach agreed.
"We were close today," McCarthy said, "and I think it just was really a carryover from the way we've been practicing, and hopefully we can keep continuing to build off it because our guys have done a great job in that area in practice."
Freiermuth and Warren led the Steelers with 5 receptions apiece, with Freiermuth gaining 46 yards and scoring on a 6-yard reception of a Rodgers pass.
"As I looked outside, I could feel Pat just whirling around to the left," said Rodgers. "So I was trying to hold my eyes to the left a little bit longer to give him a chance. But Pat has got such great instincts. He made some nice plays today."
September football: Of course, all didn't go perfectly for the Steelers. They converted only 3 of 13 third downs (0 of 2 on fourth downs) and had 7 penalties for 52 yards.
"Offensively, it was a little herky-jerky, starting with me," said McCarthy. "Getting into a flow was just a bit challenging. Third down was the thing that kind of stood out to me where we've got to maybe A.) Get more favorable, and B.) Convert those. But I loved the way we battled back. We had some tough flags against us, and that's football. That's September football. So, we clearly have a lot to correct [Monday]. It's a good place to be after your first win and know that you have room for improvement."
