By admin 
Aaron Rodgers began his final NFL season by throwing for 221 yards and a score and T.J. Watt returned an interception for a touchdown to lead the Pittsburgh Steelers to a 20-13 victory over the visiting Atlanta Falcons on Sunday.
Read more NFL Fans React To Jets Winning First Game Of Season
Watt also had three tackles for loss and two sacks for the Steelers (1-0), who won their third straight season opener.
Cooper Rush completed 12 of 22 passes for 143 yards and a touchdown while throwing two interceptions for the Falcons (0-1). Bijan Robinson rushed for 83 yards and had eight catches for 90 yards and a score.
Facing a 13-7 halftime deficit, Atlanta threatened to cut the margin in half on its first drive of the second half, but Nick Folk missed his second field goal attempt of the game — this time a 45-yard try.
The Steelers punted and then turned the ball over on downs on their next two possessions.
Robinson took a 24-yard pass into Pittsburgh territory on the next drive, which led to Folk’s 51-yarder that trimmed the lead to 13-10 with 1:50 left in the third.
After a Pittsburgh punt, Watt plucked Rush’s pass out of the air and returned it 35 yards for a touchdown to make it 20-10 with 14:05 remaining in the fourth.
Read more Cam Schlittler dominant as Yankees shut out Mets
The Falcons answered with Folk’s 43-yarder, then Pittsburgh’s Chris Boswell missed wide right on a 56-yard attempt to leave the door open for the visitors with 6:58 left.
Atlanta advanced to the Steelers’ 34 on the following possession, but Alex Highsmith sacked Rush to force a punt.
Pittsburgh picked up three first downs on the final drive to ice the win.
The Steelers struck first on Boswell’s 43-yard field goal. Following the Falcons’ second punt, Atlanta’s Mike Hughes forced Jaylen Warren’s fumble that was recovered at the Steelers’ 25-yard line.
Three plays later, Rush tossed a swing pass to Robinson, who took it 23 yards for a touchdown to give the Falcons a 7-3 edge with 1:13 left in the first quarter.
Pittsburgh had to settle for another Boswell field goal on the ensuing drive, a 28-yarder to pull the Steelers within a point.
Pittsburgh regained the ball when Rush was picked off by Jaquan Brisker. Rodgers then hit Warren for 18 yards before finding Pat Freiermuth for a 6-yard touchdown pass to give the Steelers a 13-7 edge.
Read more Worst MLS Team’s Multi-Million Dollar Investment Leads to Massive Upset, Bit of Hope
Folk then missed a 54-yard field goal try in his first attempt with Atlanta.
–Field Level Media
Field Level Media 2026 – All Rights Reserved
This story was originally published September 13, 2026 at 1:32 PM.