The Falcons scored the only touchdown in Sunday’s game against the Steelers, but that wasn’t enough to get them a win.
Steelers cornerback Donte Jackson picked Cousins off late in the fourth quarter and quarterback Justin Fields ran for a key first down just before the two-minute warning to set up Chris Boswell’s sixth field goal of the afternoon. The Falcons got the ball back with 28 seconds to play, but the Steelers hung on for an 18-10 win.
It was the second interception of the day for Cousins, who was making his first appearance since tearing his Achilles while playing for the Vikings last season and signing with the Falcons this offseason. He was 16-of-26 for 155 yards and threw a touchdown to tight end Kyle Pitts, but the overall performance wasn’t what the Falcons had in mind when they signed him.
The final play of the game was a sack by Steelers edge rusher T.J. Watt, who was a problem for the Falcons offensive line all afternoon. He had two other strip sacks wiped out by penalties, but his pressure gave Cousins problems all day and he also recovered a botched snap for a third Atlanta turnover.
Fields got stuffed for no gain on a fourth-down sneak earlier in the fourth quarter, but his running ability was a plus for the Steelers over the course of the game. He had 57 yards on the ground and running back Najee Harris picked up 70 yards as the Steelers were content to keep the ball on the ground for most of the day.
When they did put it in the air, Fields tended to go deep to wide receiver George Pickens. They hooked up six times for 85 yards to help the Steelers endure some of their less successful offensive attempts.
The Steelers will be in Denver next weekend and head coach Mike Tomlin may have to decide between sticking with Fields or going with Russell Wilson. Wilson was out this week with a calf injury, but was reportedly pushing to play and a full return to practice will force the Steelers to make a call. They also may need to sign a punter after Cam Johnston left the game with a leg injury. Boswell was pressed into duty for the team’s final punt and handled that as well as his six field goal attempts.
Cousins and the Falcons will be in Philadelphia to meet the 1-0 Eagles and they’ll probably need to find more than 226 yards of offense if they’re going to avoid an 0-2 start to the year.