ATLANTA — Two new teams kicked off the 2024 season in Atlanta in front of a Mercedes-Benz Stadium with a fanbase that seemed evenly split. With new faces on both the Steelers and Falcons teams, 10-year veteran Pittsburgh kicker Chris Boswell made a huge difference, spoiling Kirk Cousins’ Atlanta debut and leading the Steelers to an 18-10 victory.
Atlanta has high hopes and a lot of money betting on Cousins as he returns from a season-ending injury he suffered last year while playing for the Minnesota Vikings. Cousins has drawn praise during training camp for his veteran leadership, but leadership in training doesn’t necessarily translate to points in the regular season.
The Cousins era began in Atlanta with Bijan Robinson running left three times in a row. All things considered, it wasn’t necessarily the worst strategy. New head coach Raheem Morris and new offensive coordinator Zach Robinson played conservatively early on and held the offense tight. Cousins got too soft, throwing into double coverage late in the first quarter, leading to an interception by Pittsburgh’s DeSean Elliott, one of the Steelers’ three field goals in the first half.
The Steelers suffered some self-inflicted misfortune early on, as Justin Fields, brought in after Russell Wilson was ejected 90 minutes into the game, had little trouble moving the Steelers between the 30-yard line and struggled to get Pittsburgh within sight of the end zone.
The first big play for either team, a 36-yard pass by Fields to George Pickens that would have put the Steelers in the red zone, didn’t result in a score due to offensive pass interference on Pickens. An offsides penalty on TJ Watt later in the half proved even more costly, negating his strip sack and fumble recovery.
With disaster averted, Cousins capitalized on the next play, completing a 12-yard touchdown pass to Kyle Pitts, who was completely unoccupied in the end zone with just 38 seconds left in the first half.
The play would have given the Falcons a 10-6 lead at halftime, but a defensive mistake by the Falcons allowed Pickens to break free in Atlanta’s half, setting up another Steelers field goal as time expired.
Atlanta’s promising third quarter came to an abrupt end when Cousins fumbled the snap and Watt fell on it. Nine plays and 24 yards later, Boswell made his fourth field goal of the afternoon to retake the lead at 12–10.
The Steelers defense came back to life in the second half, harassing, rushing and overpowering Cousins, but the offense just couldn’t get it done. With Pickens running free through the Atlanta secondary, the Steelers couldn’t get close to the end zone. Boswell made two more long-range field goals in the third quarter to give Pittsburgh a 15-10 lead with 15 minutes left.
Atlanta’s offense continued to struggle in the second half, fumble-punting-punting-punting on its first four attempts. On Atlanta’s final chance, trailing by just five points in Pittsburgh territory, Cousins threw his second interception of the day, a gut-wrenching backbreaker that brought laughter to thousands of towel-waving Steelers fans. Boswell converted the interception into a field goal for his sixth of the afternoon.
Cousins finished the day completing 16 of 26 passes for 155 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. Not surprisingly, the day ended with a sack and plenty of new concerns for the new Falcons.