The Pittsburgh Steelers kicked off their 2026 season with a win over the Atlanta Falcons, and while nobody will confuse it with an offensive masterpiece, there’s no such thing as an ugly win in the NFL. The Steelers defense carried the day with a dominant performance, while the offense sputtered through drops, penalties, and inconsistent line play. Here are the winners and losers from Pittsburgh’s season opener against Atlanta.

Winners

Alex Highsmith

Highsmith set the tone early with a sack and did a strong job setting the edge against those perimeter runs the Falcons love to spam. He then essentially ended any chance of an Atlanta comeback with another big-time sack in the fourth quarter.

Payton Wilson

For all the growing pains Wlilson has experienced over the past couple of seasons (particularly against the run), he was all over the football field. He looked extremely fast and physical, and he made some good plays against the pass as well. If Wilson can play like that all season long, he won’t just be a starter. He’ll be someone Pittsburgh can rely on for the long haul.

Jaquan Brisker

Brisker delivered the kind of homecoming story Hollywood couldn’t have scripted better. In his first game in his hometown, Brisker hauled in an interception, laid a huge hit on Falcons running back Bijan Robinson, and played the deep safety position like a true center fielder. He was all over the field.

Pat Freiermuth

Muth opened the scoring for the Steelers with a touchdown, doing a great job getting to the back line on the scramble drill from Aaron Rodgers. Those two built strong chemistry throughout training camp, and it showed on that play in Week 1.

Aaron Rodgers

Rodgers may not have posted eye-popping stats, and the completion percentage and yardage totals won’t blow anyone away. But as I’ll get to in the losers section, he didn’t have a lot of help out there. His arm still looked incredible. The rip he threw over Falcons linebacker Divine Deablo was an amazing throw, one that very few quarterbacks in the NFL can still make. He missed some passes and took a bad sack or two, but overall, Rodgers looked like he can still play winning football.

Jamel Dean

Dean left the game briefly with an injury but returned and forced a fumble. The Falcons recovered it, but Dean did well in run fits, especially considering the Steelers didn’t have their No. 1 corner, Joey Porter Jr., who was inactive and now appears to have his Steelers career potentially coming to an end.

Cam Heyward and T.J. Watt

Cam Heyward and TJ Watt were the biggest winners for the Steelers. What Heyward did at 37 years old was remarkable: 3 pass breakups, stout run defense, consistent pocket-pushing. His power, his bull rush, his ability to anchor have not faded whatsoever. He still looks like a player in his prime.

But Watt staked his early claim for Defensive Player of the Year. He finished with 2 sacks (one during a holding call Pittsburgh deferred), a tackle for loss, and a pick-6. This was prime TJ Watt. This is a player who is nowhere near being washed.

View this post on Instagram

Honorable mention: Roman Wilson

His stat line won’t jump off the page, but he got open multiple times and should have caught a touchdown. You could argue there was pass interference on the play where he fell to the ground and the ball popped out. On the sideline, though, he drew a 37-yard pass interference call for the Steelers. In what is a big Year 3 for Wilson, he looked sharp.

Losers

Jaylen Warren

Warren fumbled early. He’s usually sure-handed, so I won’t harp on it too much. But through the rest of the game, there wasn’t a lot of explosion from Warren. Some of that may relate to the other losers on this list, but it still wasn’t the best showing.

Right side of the offensive line

Spencer Anderson and Dylan Cook, the right side of the Steelers offensive line, struggled to generate any push in the run game. When pressure or sacks came, it usually originated from that right side. From center left, Zach Frazier, Mason McCormick, and Troy Fautanu are set. But the right guard and right tackle need to clean things up in a hurry.

Jalen Ramsey

Ramsey struggled, in my opinion. He had a big-time pass breakup on Kyle Pitts, but that’s probably a touchdown if even Tua Tagovailoa or Michael Penix Jr. were playing. He didn’t look the most athletic and had trouble covering at times. Could be a sign he’s past his peak, or it could be that a hamstring injury limited his training camp and he still needs to find his legs.

DK Metcalf

Metcalf had 2 offensive pass interference penalties and 2 bad drops. He did have a 12-yard catch over A.J. Terrell to help Pittsburgh get out of its own end zone, but you would think that coming off the way his 2025 season ended, he would have had a big game. That simply wasn’t the case.

The bottom line

The Steelers won the game. Is it a sustainable product on offense? Absolutely not. But it doesn’t matter. It’s a Week 1 win at home, the defense looked dominant, and Pittsburgh has plenty of time to clean up the offensive issues. Steelers football is officially back.