ATLANTA FALCONS
(Sunday, Sept. 13, 1 p.m. at Acriscure Stadium)
Series: Steelers 16-2-1
Last meeting: Steelers 18, Falcons 10 (2024 at Atlanta)
Coaching: HC: Kevin Stefanski; OC: Tommy Rees; DC: Jeff Ulbrich; STC: Craig Aukerman
2025: 8-9, third in NFC South Division (14th total offense; 15th total defense)
Raheem Morris's second season as Falcons head coach began with promise at 3-2, but a five-game losing streak and seven losses in eight games dropped the Falcons to 4-9 and knocked them out of playoff contention for an eighth consecutive season. The Falcons cleaned house at the end of the season. Owner Arthur Blank promoted Greg Beadles to CEO and team president, with former quarterback Matt Ryan as president of football. Block also replaced five-year general manager Terry Fontenot with former Chicago Bears assistant general manager Ian Cunningham, and replaced Morris with former Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski.
The Falcons did win their final four games in 2025 and hope it created momentum entering the 2026 season. Their 2024 first-round pick (eighth overall), QB Michael Penix Jr., suffered a partially torn ACL in his left knee in Week 11. He was replaced by veteran QB Kirk Cousins, who directed the Falcons to five wins in their final seven games.
Key returnees
* RB Bijan Robinson led the NFL with 2,298 yards from scrimmage and was fourth in rushing with 1,478 yards (5.1 yards per carry). He was named to the Pro Bowl, was first-team All-Pro, and finished fourth in Offensive Player of the Year voting.
* TE Kyle Pitts caught 88 passes for 928 yards and 5 touchdowns in being voted second-team All-Pro.
* OLB James Pearce Jr. started only 3 games but led the Falcons with 10.5 sacks and 16 QB hits and finished third in Defensive Rookie of the Year voting.
* S Xavier Watts led the Falcons with 5 interceptions and finished fourth in Defensive Rookie of the Year voting.
Key losses
* Cousins, the 38-year-old QB, and starting WR Darnell Mooney were released.
* Former 1,000-yard rusher Tyler Allgeier, who rushed for 514 yards last season, left in free agency.
* Linebacker Kaden Elliss, who led the team in tackles the last two seasons, left in free agency.
Offseason additions
* QB Tua Tagovailoa, the No. 5 overall pick by the Miami Dolphins in 2020, could start against the Steelers if Penix isn't recovered from his injury. Like Penix, Tagovailoa is a left-handed passer. His passer rating of 88.5 last season was his lowest since the 87.1 rating he compiled his rookie season.
* WR Jahan Dotson was drafted out of Penn State in the first round of the 2022 draft by the Washington Commanders. Two years later he was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles, and now, two years later, signs with the Falcons as a much-needed threat opposite Drake London.
* LB Christian Harris was a starter for the Houston Texans his first two seasons after being drafted in the third round out of Alabama in 2022, but couldn't find much playing time the last two seasons and became an under-the-radar signing by the Falcons last March in the hope he can replace the departed Elliss inside.
* OLB Azeez Ojulari was added as a hedge in case last season's rookie sensation Pearce has to miss time due to off-the-field issues. Ojulari has compiled 22 sacks in five NFL seasons.
Days 1 & 2 draft picks
Round 2: CB Avieon Terrell, Clemson, is the younger brother of standout Falcons CB A.J. Terrell in a talented Atlanta secondary. The rookie is being groomed behind the opposite CB, Mike Hughes.
Round 3: WR Zachariah Branch, Georgia, is expected, first, to upgrade the Falcons' return games on both kickoff and punts. Branch will also be in line to fill the slot receiver position left open by the departure of unrestricted free agent David Sills. Branch, a 5-9, 177-pounder, ran a 4.35 40 at the NFL Scouting Combine.
Familiar face
The Falcons' new quarterbacks coach, Alex Van Pelt, is a Pittsburgh native who played quarterback at Pitt, where he stands atop the all-time list by averaging 243 passing yards per game. The four-year starter was, in fact, the quarterback throughout Mike McCarthy's four-year tenure as a graduate assistant and WRs coach at Pitt. Van Pelt was drafted by the Steelers in the eighth round of the 1993 draft, released in training camp, spent the rest of the season with the Chiefs, and spent the ensuing 10 seasons with the Bills. He began coaching in 2005 and last season was a senior offensive assistant with the Rams before joining the Falcons on Jan. 31.
Matching up with the Steelers
RB Robinson, WR London, and TE Pitts provide the Falcons with three explosive offensive threats, while the Falcons allowed only 26 sacks last season, only three more sacks than allowed by league-leading pass protectors the Los Angeles Rams and Denver Broncos. The Steelers will hope to exploit a Falcons run defense that allowed 4.6 yards per carry (25th) last season and has since lost tackling machine Elliss and nose tackle David Onyemata, a 33-year-old veteran who started 47 games for the Falcons the last three seasons.
