Steelers Finish Perfect in Win Over Falcons
PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Steelers punched the Atlanta Falcons in the mouth early and never relented, clinching an undefeated preseason record with a 24-0 win against the Atlanta Falcons, who sat their starters, at Mercedes Benz Stadium.
Atlanta won the toss and elected to defer, bringing Kenny Pickett and the Steelers' first-team offense to the field first.
The Steelers faced a third and five backed up in their own territory before Pickett dropped a 33-yard pass into Diontae Johnson's arms down the sidelines. Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren and combined for 18 yards on consecutive runs before Pickett connected with George Pickens, who hauled in a spectacular toe-tap catch along the sideline for 35 yards. Harris punched in a one-yard touchdown run to put Pittsburgh up 7-0.
The Falcons' first drive went backward, losing 11 yards after Elandon Roberts flew in for a tackle for loss and T.J. Watts raced through a helpless tackle to sack Taylor Heinike.
And the offense picked up right where they left off with their second drive. Calvin Austin's 21-yard punt return set them up inside the 30-yard line and three plays later, Warren was lunging into the endzone for another touchdown.
Atlanta finally picked up some yards on their second drive, but only by way of a Steelers penalty. The possession still ended in a quick punt and Mitch Trubisky came out to replace Kenny Pickett.
Trubisky's first pass was completed to Connor Heyward for 16 yards and McFarland ran off the left side of the offensive line for 31 yards as the Steelers kept throwing haymakers. But the well ran dry on big plays and a sack from Demone Harris on third down led to a 38-yard field goal from Chris Boswell.
Leading 17-0, the Steelers continued to mix in more reserves. Rookie Keeanu Benton and Markus Golden came up with a tackle for loss and batted pass, respectively to force another Atlanta punt. Keanu Neal and Kwon Alexander came up with a pair of tackles as well.
The Steelers were more methodical on their ensuing possession, running with McFarland six times and benefiting from a holding penalty on Natrone Brooks to move over midfield. Gunner Olszewski drew a pass interference call on a deep shot and Pittsburgh got the ball at the five with a fresh set of downs, but McFarland needed just one play to punch in another touchdown.
Trailing 24-0, the Falcons picked up 26 yards when Keilahn Harris beat Mark Robinson for a long reception. But a Roberts sack and false start penalty backed them up into a second and 24 that they could not overcome.
The Steelers put together a promising drive as Trubisky rushed for a 24-yard gain to get over midfield, but an incompletion and sack forced the offense to stall.
Pressley Harvin, called upon for his first punt of the day with 1:22 to go in the first half, pinned the Falcons at their own three-yard line with the help of Dez Fitzpatrick and Atlanta was barely able to get out of their own endzone before the clock ran out.
The Falcons received the ball to start the second half and Nick Herbig became quickly acquainted with new quarterback, Logan Woodside, sacking him for a six-yard loss. But that was the only negative play of the drive for Atlanta, as Woodside completed his first five passes for 48 yards. That plus an unnecessary roughness flag on Trenton Thompson put the Falcons in the redzone for the first time in the game.
But on their second play from within scoring distance, Mark Robinson and Joey Porter combined to force a fumble from Carlos Washington. Kenny Robinson recovered the ball and the Steelers preserved their shutout.
Mason Rudolph came out off the turnover to lead the Pittsburgh third-team offense. Rookie tailback Xavien Valladay, who signed with the team just this week, rushed five times for 21 yards before the Steelers were forced to punt again.
Braeden Mann saw his first action of the game, unleashing a 58-yard punt to pin the Falcons inside their own 15-yard line again.
Woodside remained at quarterback and fired a 19-yard strike to Keilahn Harris for a first down. But the Steelers forced Atlanta into a third and 12, which Woodside almost overcame with an athletic pitch to his fullback while wrapped in the arms of Armon Watts, but it wasn't enough for a new set of downs.
The Steelers took back over at their own 22-yard line and converted a fourth and one to keep their short drive alive. Rudolph then converted on a third and 15 by escaping the pocket and connecting with Dan Chisnea for 16 yards, plus a 15-yard addition for a facemask penalty.
Pittsburgh eventually had to punt after Rudolph missed Chisnea on third down and Harvin punted Atlanta back inside their own 10 to start a new drive.
Woodside led the Falcons on another long drive but their nine-play march ended without points yet again. The Steelers had to punt as well after picking up just four yards with their next possession and Mann placed another one inside the Atlanta 20-yard line with 6:18 left to play in the fourth quarter.
Carlos Washington was on his way to a first down but Toby Ndukwe shut down the drive with a three-yard tackle for loss.
The Steelers' first special teams mistake of the night came with 3:16 left in the fourth quarter, when B.T. Potter pulled a 43-yard field goal wide to the left. But the Steelers got the ball back immediately when Quincy Roche stripped Woodside and Ndukwe recovered the fumble.
Running with Greg Bell and Darius Hagans, the Steelers brought the clock down to the two-minute warning. Tanner Morgan took an unsuccessful deep shot to Aron Cruickshank on fourth down and the Falcons took the ball back.
Woodside and company got up to midfield with 50 seconds left and burned their final timeout by the 26 second mark. But the drive ended when Ndukwe added a sack to his game line and let the final 24 seconds run off as the Steelers clinched a perfect preseason record.
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