It's officially Week 1 around the NFL, and it's the first week of head coach Mike McCarthy's tenure with the Steelers.
That adds even more intrigue to this time of year, when hope springs eternal, excitement abounds and emotions run high. At least that will be the case at 1 p.m. Sunday when the Steelers and Falcons hit the field at Acrisure Stadium. An opener is always anticipated, and while they all count the same in the standings, a home opener is an extra layer of significance.
McCarthy addressed just that Monday afternoon at his first in-season news conference.
"I think history is important. There's nothing like the history of the City of Pittsburgh and the Pittsburgh Steelers," McCarthy said. "I spent some time on that today in the team meeting. Hopefully, it resonated with the players.
"I think it is important to put your best foot forward and try to make a first impression, but at the end of the day — I've done this long enough — the most important thing is to win the game."
Whether that's 3-2 or 48-47, McCarthy will take it if it means beginning the 2026 campaign on a victorious note. It's whatever it takes to get the job done.
But McCarthy also knows the adrenaline that will be flowing through each competitor. The message of bringing intensity isn't the only one that he wants to resonate with his group.
"Biggest challenge for Week 1 is, clearly, playing within yourself — especially for a new staff, new players," McCarthy said. "We spent a tremendous amount of time and energy detailing how we want to play schematically, most importantly fundamentally, and I think the biggest challenge in Week 1 is sticking to your fundamentals."
There's an obvious desire to kick off the proceedings with physicality and grit. Being the aggressor is key when you have the crowd on your side.
But there's another inherent perk to being a first-year head coach. And that's why McCarthy was light on specifics when it came to injuries, depth chart questions and personnel groupings Monday.
"I think we'll wait until Sunday," McCarthy said. "I'm not here to give you lineups and things like that. We have one opportunity to line up and play as a new team, so we'll take advantage of this being Week 1."
McCarthy did acknowledge that returning starter Dylan Cook has been taking most of the practice snaps at right tackle. Monday was a bit of a bonus, coming off a three-day break for the players.
The rest of the week will focus more on Atlanta, while the Steelers continue to develop first-round pick Max Iheanachor at right tackle. Such is the balance of helping along young players and seeking out clarity so a unit can jell.
"We just want to continue to work the different combinations," McCarthy said. "We've got to really set our jaw Wednesday and Thursday."
McCarthy, his coordinators and the assistant coaches approached this week's game plan expecting to have all players available. That's a good sign of the health of the team following the preseason.
There will come a time for pinpointing individual matchups and emphasizing opponent tendencies. For now, McCarthy continues to stress the identity he wants the Steelers to play with, and he has learned from previous openers that if you get too bogged down in the opposite sideline too soon, you can miss the forest for the trees.
"I really don't care about the other team right now," McCarthy said. "We need to get our thing set and get the direction clear of exactly how we want to play the game. I think our guys are doing a good job with that as far as the first steps in that direction."
But make no mistake, this isn't a feeling-out process either. McCarthy noted that the Steelers have one of the most experienced teams in the NFL.
While 11 rookies made the initial 53-man roster, there are a dozen players age 30 or older, and a 13th in cornerback Jamel Dean, who hits that number next month. With so many to choose from, McCarthy will name captains each week, rather than hand out those roles for the length of the season.
Those duties are still to be determined for this week. For whomever heads to midfield for the coin toss, the goal is to not just compete, but to win.
Everything the Steelers have done going back to when McCarthy was hired, then to OTAs and the draft, and of course training camp, led up to this week.
"Now you hit the reality, and it's time to get ready to go play a game," McCarthy said. "I think we've hit the target as far as transitioning from scheme development to the installation phase, and now it's time to play."
