It was the ideal way to cap off a great preseason for the Steelers.
They not only won 3-0, winning all three games convincingly, but the first-team offence added two more touchdown drives to their tally, putting that group 5-for-5 in scoring touchdowns in the preseason for the 2023 season.
And, by the way, the Steelers avoided a catastrophic injury to a front-line player, which was maybe the most important element of the equation.
The Steelers beat the Atlanta Falcons 24-0 here at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Thursday night, with touchdown runs from Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren capping off the two drives in which the first-team offence was on the field.
Kenny Pickett completed all four of his throws for 86 yards in this game, assisting in the touchdown runs by Harris and Warren.
Pickett finished the preseason 13 of 15 for 199 yards, two touchdowns, and no interceptions for a passer rating of 158.3.
Despite the fact that Atlanta did not play any of its starters, the Steelers thought it was critical to perform well.
“It was about solidifying the preseason and finishing strong,” Pickett said. “Our main goal was to go out there and put points on the board.” We scored two touchdowns, which is a really positive start.”
Pickett connected with Diontae Johnson down the left sideline for a 33-yard gain on third-and-5, then threw a 35-yard throw to George Pickens down the right sideline to the Atlanta 1 to set up Harris’ touchdown to finish off a 92-yard drive.
Pickens made a beautiful grab, reaching over CB Natrone Brooks to bring in the ball while contorting his body to maintain his feet in bounds.
The Steelers defence forced a three-and-out on Atlanta’s next drive, with T.J. Watt picking up a second-down sack to push the Falcons deeper behind the chains after Elandon Roberts had a 4-yard stop for a loss on first down.
Calvin Austin III returned the subsequent punt 21 yards to the Atlanta 29, and Pickett and company dispatched the Falcons once again. On a screen, he connected with Harris for a 16-yard gain, and Harris subsequently added 5 yards to put the ball at the Atlanta 8.
Warren then made it 14-0 by scoring through a huge hole on the right side of the line.
The offence, defence, and special teams all worked together like they have all preseason.
“That’s how it’s supposed to work,” linebacker Alex Highsmith said. “Our job is to stop them so the offence can gain good field position.” The offence does what they do and scores down there. Overall, it was a team victory; all three phases performed well.”
At that moment, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin had had enough of his first-team offence and substituted in his second unit.
It fared almost as well, as the defence forced another three-and-out and Mitch Trubisky led a pair of scoring drives, the first two of which set up a 38-yard Chris Boswell field goal at the conclusion of the first quarter, and the second of which resulted in a 5-yard touchdown run by Anthony McFarland, making it 24-0.
The Steelers had outgained the Falcons 220-8 in total yards at that point. In the first half, they outgained Atlanta by a score of 253-55.
The Falcons finally put together a sustained drive to start the second half, but cornerback Joey Porter Jr. and linebacker Mark Robinson forced a Carlos Washington fumble at the Pittsburgh 5 that safety Kenny Robinson scooped up to end the Atlanta threat and keep the shutout intact, despite the fact that it came against Atlanta’s backups.
“It doesn’t matter,” said 13-year veteran Steelers cornerback Patrick Peterson. “They’re experts. It’s their fault they didn’t have their men on the scene. This is my first preseason shutout and my second career shutout. I had one against the Giants in either 2020 or 2019. That was very cool. It’s always nice for a defence to have a shutout because that’s something you constantly strive for, keeping people out of the end zone, and that’s what we were able to accomplish.”
Steelers sacks came from Watt, Roberts, Toby Ndukwe, Quincy Roche, and rookie Nick Herbig. Herbig’s sack gave him a team-leading 3.5 in the preseason, while Roche’s sack caused a fumble that the Steelers recovered just before the two-minute warning.
McFarland led the Steelers’ running offence with 175 yards on 10 attempts, including a 31-yard run.
Kenny Pickett completed all four of his throws for 86 yards in this game, assisting in the touchdown runs by Harris and Warren.
Pickett finished the preseason 13 of 15 for 199 yards, two touchdowns, and no interceptions for a passer rating of 158.3.
On third-and-5, he connected with Diontae Johnson for a 33-yard gain, finding Johnson down the left sideline, then threw a 35-yard throw to George Pickens down the right sideline to the Atlanta 1, setting up Harris’ touchdown to finish off a 92-yard drive.
Pickens made a beautiful grab, reaching over CB Natrone Brooks to bring in the ball while contorting his body to maintain his feet in bounds.
The Steelers defence forced a three-and-out on Atlanta’s next drive, with T.J. Watt picking up a second-down sack to push the Falcons deeper behind the chains after Elandon Roberts had a 4-yard stop for a loss on first down.
Calvin Austin III returned the subsequent punt 21 yards to the Atlanta 29, and Pickett and company dispatched the Falcons once again. On a screen, he connected with Harris for a 16-yard gain, and Harris subsequently added 5 yards to put the ball at the Atlanta 8.
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