Breakdown of Steelers 18-10 win over Falcons in Week 1 | Steelers Live The Extra Point

[Music] uh we were shooting ourselves in the foot some drives got stopped um you know you you're kicking field goals man in a hostile environment versus good group man um you know you're in danger and so I'm just really appreciative that we're able to get it done uh we got things to work on uh but it's really good to to work on your ills with a W everybody Welcome to the extra point presented by Microsoft Surface I am Missy Matthews the Steelers week one win in Atlanta 18-10 all thanks to Chris Boswell in his field goals let's welcome in Mike Puda as we dissect uh this game uh it's week one a lot of wonky things happened the Steelers one of two teams to not score a touchdown but to win the game the other was the bear and uh it was a good thing that Chris Boswell was on point yesterday it was and uh it was a good thing they were resourceful enough to kind of go with the flow React to what was happening you heard Mike Tomlin a minute ago talk about shooting themselves in the foot early but they were able to make just enough plays as the game progressed and uh maybe my personal favorite Missy Chris Boswell punting Scotty Miller and Ben scaran gunning uh a 43 yard punt with no return when they really needed a good play in the kicking game uh if you had that move to the Head of the Class because I know I talked about this matchup many times in advance I didn't ever mention that as a possibility that's the way it works sometimes you got to do what you got to do when you got to do it right and as we take a look at the final stats uh quickly I'll tell you that Chris Boswell just took off his ball cap put his mouth guard down uh stretched quickly and ran on the field didn't blink and came right back over and was looking for exactly where his hat was I it was that crazy and he said after the game uh it was good for him not good for a real punter but for the Steelers it definitely worked but let's go yes let's go all the way back to the very beginning uh to the opening drive of the game and this was the Atlanta Falcons with the ball KK cousins making his Atlanta debut and uh Atlanta had some success running the ball on this drive Missy uh which surprised me a little bit six carries for 20 yards that's a 4.8 average per carry uh Steelers tightened that up as as the game went on uh but uh Atlanta was uh able to to get something established off the bat this I believe is going to oh that's the TJ Watt play uh there was also a real nice play on this drive by pton Wilson the rookie making his first uh appearance for the Steelers but uh there you see what happens when you try to single block TJ Watt on a running play and ATL ends up settling for three and also to be fair Dante Jackson almost had an interception uh during that drive but going to the Steelers first drive in Justin fields in his hometown of Atlanta starting in place of Russell Wilson who was inactive in the emergency QB yesterday yeah you see uh fumbled uh exchange there and U then you see a Miss throw here which could have produced a first down and then they had to take a time out cuz the play clock was running out to get to uh a nice scramble here by Justin Fields this was uh a little bit of foreshadowing by Fields here this is an element that he has that not a lot of quarterbacks do uh he's able to get himself out of the pocket to extend the play and then realize it was there to be made with his leg so he made it and then speaking of making plays with your legs or leg if you will the first of three 50 plus field goals on the day um and it did seem like the offense needed to settle down after that drive yeah and you know uh we saw stats a minute ago Missy and no touchdowns in that game but uh a good percentage on third down 47% which led to a good number of first downs which led to a good figure in time of possession and it all added up to be just enough all right and it was the first regular season game also for our play-by-play guy Rob King let's listen to one of his calls of a splash play so cousins in this formation with Robinson now back and alir looking to set something up goes over the middle of the field it's intercepted by the Steelers picked off and it is Deshawn Elliott who comes up with the interception right around midfield for the Steelers and this is what you want to see unsettle the cousins right get kurtt cousins kind of little flabbergasted here trying to unload that thing and wedge it into an area that he couldn't get it into look there was a whole lot of white around that Falcons receiver there all right you love to see when the new guys uh are starting to make splash plays right off the bat and also we mentioned Dante Jackson did have another one we'll get to that but that Splash play did help and it got the ball back to the Steelers offense which they needed to do Mike yeah and uh they were able toh do something with it you know it wasn't an aggressive game plan but that's a pretty aggressive throw there to George Pickins on third down I think they did a good job uh in this game Missy of protecting the ball but still picking their spots when to push the envelope when to put the pedal down just to enough you know uh as long as they were maintaining Pace staying within one score staying tied maybe playing with uh a slight lead uh they were able to kind of dictate and do things the way they wanted to do them and then gradually uh you saw the running game take over this one uh Curious to me how uh nobody saw that take place at least nobody with a yellow flag well you beat me to it I was going to say I think there were quite a few calls that if you were a Steelers fan you were probably screaming at your TV uh wishing that you could speak to to uh the zebras on the field for that also um you know the George pickings OPI that seems to be another one that everyone was kind of shaking their head of what was happening there and prior to that um there was a false start so this really was a drive that started bad could have been better and didn't work out yeah that was the uh OPI there again they're up 63 at this point there's a little bit of a push by both guys uh you see that all the time right I think uh Greg Olsen uh doing the game as the analyst on Fox I think he said we've seen a lot worse and we have but it got called but this was an example again of playing with a three-point lead so now you're willing to take a shot when you get pickings one-on-one down the sideline uh should have worked but didn't but uh you you like you like to see the attempt this play here uh kind of a fluke TJ watt gets to Kurt Cousins and uh affects the trajectory of the ball it ended up looking more like a short punt than a pass maybe that's why Ray Ray McLoud was able to be so comfortable on the other end of it but uh you know Atlanta got a break there uh made the most of it and then Atlanta really got a break here because Missy I don't think this was encroachment I think this was timed perfectly and I think as TJ watt said postgame to NFL Network the official went and watched it during the halftime came back out and said yeah I TJ watt was so livid for many reasons uh as we'll continue to get to them but this is one where he had the tablet and you could tell he wanted to take it out on the field to show them in real time kind of like the old Bill Cower stuff in the picture in the officials pocket uh this is the Falcons only touchdown uh you see they run this wheel route and uh the Steelers figured this out eventually and uh all was well that that ended well but uh this really impressed me they got the ball back with 32 seconds left at the 30 yd line and again thoughtfully aggressive you know take your shots when you feel they're able to be taken and rather than just go to the locker room uh after that Atlanta touchdown they're able to get down and set themselves up for another longdistance field goal and uh what was it 10-9 at the break it was yeah pulled within one and here's what coach tunlin had to say about Chris Boswell being being able to add an extra three before the Steelers went into the locker room at the hack but I'm just really appreciative of how the team supported one another and fought through um and that's what teams do um you know a case in point is we gave up a a drive there before the half and our offense went down the field and got a field goal to to respond and and and that was important all right so a 10-9 game uh and as we saw from both offenses yes the Falcons were able to find the end zone but Mike it did feel like after halftime they were able to settle down in terms of the Steelers offense and control the ball more but just taking a look at the first half stats um not great but it it could have been worse could have been worse you know uh Justin Fields actually hit 11 in a row he went to the locker room 11 for 13 after missing badly to Van Jefferson and missing badley to na Harris he kind of settled in and as he settled in the offense kind of settled in yeah it could have been a lot worse they were in relatively good spot I thought after 30 minutes well and I think you know no interceptions not turning the ball over winning the turnover uh you know battle that's always key for the Steelers and then when you get a chance to let the defense do what they want to do uh so let's get into that in the third quarter and picking it up here uh with Kirk Cousins and uh TJ watt saying hi again yeah there uh this was one of the plays that watt referenced as the the Steelers fans in the crowd influencing because the Falcons are going on silent count and they're run running a motion man right into the snap balls on the ground and uh TJ watt's pretty good at tracking those things down when they start bouncing around like that yeah those three versus TJ trying to get the ball I don't think there's a problem there and TJ watt also motioning for all of Steelers Nation in the crowd uh to get them red up and it certainly worked what did you think uh heard uh Spencer Anderson I believe thought 6040 60% Steelers fans 40% Atlanta was that accurate I actually do think that was probably accurate I think you know they sold out for the first time and who knows how many seasons in terms of the Falcons exciting you have new coaching staff new quarterback you're hoping for the best and they were passing out white flags so it was very evident where they were compared to the yellow towels but I have they went on the silent count as you said TJ's upset again here I I I think a lot of people were upset here well this is another one I think it could have gone either way I mean there's a that's probably a penalty uh but uh it doesn't diminish the effort that watt makes going through two guys getting to the quarterback and getting that ball out again well the good thing is uh Chris Boswell continued to be Chris Boswell and we continue to see the connection between Justin fields and George Pickins uh two guys that have known each other since they were in high school yeah and uh you see not only the connection but Justin Fields hanging in the pocket taking a pretty good shot just after he delivers the ball uh they found the single coverage and now they were able to exploit it I think that's something you know Arthur Smith has said when they get the matchups they like they're going to air on the side of being aggressive uh I think we saw that a little bit in this game and I think we'll see it probably a little bit more as the the season continues yeah and I think the way that he was using the Personnel a lot of the players on offense talked after the game about how they were doing different things out of the same formation really confusing the Falcons defense and only a 40- yard uh field goal here for Chris Boswell but again again it still matters at this point in the game and then we head over to the fourth quarter and uh the Steelers were able to uh do the time of possession thing yeah you see the ground game taking over uh a lot of two and three tight end sets and uh Nai Harris may be playing uh more impactfully in the fourth quarter than he had in the first three because the Steelers were gradually wearing Atlanta down and out I thought yeah and the offensive lineman you know postgame also said you could feel that that was happening and they were all four continuing to run the ball into to help things uh go in terms of trying to get down there yeah there see Jaylen War I think he only had two carries in the game uh here they are uh near the goal line and this didn't work nope a few things didn't work when they were close to the goal line unfortunately for them there yeah this didn't either nope and it was a shame for how close they were and how long that drive was uh but here's what coach Tomlin had to say about the decision to go for fourth and one after the game you know we going to live that life uh we don't live in our fears man we play and play to win um if you can't get fourth in one man sometimes you don't deserve to win and that's just a philosophical approach that we live by um I believe in our bigs I've talked to you guys repeatedly that we're going to ride the wave that our bigs on offense and defense provide and we mean it obviously we didn't get it done right there but we still live that life yeah 13 play Drive 72 yards had the ball for 7 minutes and 14 seconds and came away without points now the option would have been kick the field goal go up by eight now uh minut Atlanta excuse me needs a touchdown in a two-point conversion just to tie the game but I think Mike Tomlin sens there was a chance to actually go for The Knockout Punch right there you get that first down now you're first and goal at the 5 yard line or closer and maybe you punch it in and the ball game's over uh right at that juncture so uh maybe not a decision I would have made Missy but certainly not one I'm going to criticize because again thoughtfully aggressive take your shots when you have them and then we get to the final drive of the game in where TJ watt had the knockout punch to end the game but before we got there you know as you said the Falcons with a chance there and Dante Jackson catching this interception said the first one he felt like his eyes were just not up enough to be able to grab it and we saw what happened after this point yeah and as Jackson explained this play same one he thought that the Falcons scored their touchdown on this time there's two people uh covering that wheel route uh it's uh RayRay McLoud not pits but same concept and you know if Dante Jackson doesn't get that maybe beanie Bishop does so uh they're a much look at the pocket just collapsing with the fourman pressure uh Mike tomblin really add him in after the game that they did not want to Blitz Kurt Cousins uh that led to this Scotty Miller I was going to say shout out Scotty Miller who said he found out on Friday he's never held before uh got a few little reps in there and he was called upon and BOS told him whatever you do just do not move the ball and it worked uh and of course there's your explanation take B absolutely and what a way to end it with a walk-off sack for TJ watt when you look at his stats because of some of the the things that were negated due to penalties uh four tackles in one sack could have been much better it's still TJ Watt and he's still impact that game yeah he also you know one of the tackles was for a loss on a running play that he Tracked Down from behind uh he was harassing uh cousins all game long uh just kind of looked like I don't know a defensive player of the year caliber performance nothing short of it and I feel like that's how TJ usually I don't know what his win rate was on the pass rush though I I don't on this program we're not going to run by that uh we're going to go by impact to what he's able to do let's take a final look at the defense stats for the game uh with the three turnovers huge whenever you get a chance to look at that yeah 10 points you take that every time third down two for nine you'll take that every time 226 total net yards you'll take that every time time of possession it uh it all adds up and that's something I feel like the Steelers were more evenly uh balanced in the time of possession last year and when you have a chance to have that significant uh winning the turnover battle not turning not turning the ball over uh you know there were a few the fumbled snap there were chances where it could have gone wrong but they were able to persevere yeah uh the fumbled snap and uh defensively that first drive Mike tomble not happy they let Atlanta move the ball but they got uh they got him stopped short of the end zone three instead of seven uh I think all in all for openers a pretty good pretty good job in all three phases and a really good job particularly with what happened to Cameron Johnson and uh the punting game changing so dramatically the Steelers able to adapt on the Fly and uh not let that defeat them all right we're going to take a quick break here on the extra point Mike we'll get some more of your final thoughts in just a bit but coming up next former Steelers outside linebacker Arthur Moes joins the program don't go [Music] anywhere want to get gear direct from the team shop all things black and gold at the official Steelers Pro Shop located at Acure Stadium get the latest sideline apparel and hats jerseys of your favorite players authentic memorabilia custom gear and exclusives you can only find here don't forget you aren't game day ready without a Terrible Towel the Steelers Pro Shop has everything you need to be part of the legendary Steelers Nation come experience the Acure Stadium shopping environment or shop online at shop. steelers.com [Music] cousins in the shotgun gets the snap looking TJ watt is able to swallow him up there's a flag downfield watt did he jump off sides he has a sack for now of cousins back at about the 23 yd line he did punch the ball loose he did come up with a fumble recovery but he was off sides it just sucks when you study so hard and find a little nugget a golden nugget and uh you get it and uh it gets taken away from you so that was unfortunate but uh it's not going to turn me from continuing to study and making those plays in the future TJ Watt doing TJ watt like things welcome back to the extra point presented by Microsoft Surface someone who knows TJ rather well uh and all things outside linebackers is former Steeler JMU Hall of Famer Arthur Moes kind enough to join me now and uh Arthur it is very interesting when you hear TJ talking about that Golden Nugget what did you make of his performance yesterday I mean it was masterful it was a TJ wat like performance I mean realistically we're supposed to be sitting up here right now talking about how he just needs a half a sack to put him over that 100 career sack threshold that's what we were supposed to be doing right now but we get it officiating it it's you know here to miss at times but you just live with it and I think that that was the case in point yesterday for TJ he's absolutely right you study all week long looking for anything to give you an advantage and when you feel like yeah I kind of have a beat on when this guy's going to snap the football and you take advantage of it and when you actually review it it shows that yeah he wasn't off Sid that he actually timed it up perfectly my big issue with that as a whole is just the thought process that for offensive linan if that's a tackle leaving early it's acceptable it's considered oh yeah he's just getting a jump you deal with it but as soon as the outside linebacker is able to match that but also do it within the rules now we're more prone to throw the flag so that was my big issue with it but at the end TJ's Talent will always Prevail and that was why he was able to still end up with the Game ending sack well and I think also too just the amount of bodies that we grabbing at TJ watt uh mugging him I will say uh during the game and no calls there you could see the frustration but as you said the walk-off sack able to do the kick and a bow that's new but as he said first time for everything uh the defense as a whole uh we know what TJ watt's capable of some new pieces there what did you see from them man I thought that the new pieces flew around whether we're talking about at the linebacker level Patrick Queen and Payton Wilson I thought that both of those guys were very sideline to sideline doing a lot of stuff on the perimeter but then even in the second we saw Dante Jackson leave out here with the interception should have had two of them we saw desun Elliot leave out of here with the interception as well when you looking at the ability for the new guys to not just make plays but to create Splash that's the part man in terms of those turnovers that adds to the performance so to me man I thought that defensively our new guys did a great job but as a whole they provided the thing that we needed the most which was minimizing big plays and ultimately giving our offense ample opportunities to move up and down the field and for the Steelers offense uh you know being able to sustain Drive keeping the defense fresh and off on the sideline so when they do come in they can make an impact um from a defensive perspective what do you uh make of Justin Field's first start as a Pittsburgh Steeler man I thought all things considered he did a great job and why is that because 48 hours prior to the game starting he was the backup he was preparing but he was preparing for somebody else's play right when we're talking about Russell Wilson the scheme the game plan Arthur Smith was predicated for him so even though Justin Phils is a professional even though they both have similarities to their game it's still a difference when you're talking about something being custom fit for this player and now I'm trying to on the Fly alterntive for this guy but I thought for Justin Fields he led six scoring drops they didn't end in touchdowns but we still had six scoring drops we only had one three and out when we think about just the history of what we've had to deal with offensively these past couple of Seasons That's not always been the case so to throw in the different variables of offensive lineman being hurt to throw in Justin Fields not having a full week to prepare as the starter but to still come out here and have that type of success and let's not lose sight of this the most important part was getting a victory on the road we know how tough it is to win in this league so when I think about all of that I say Justin Phils did a great job now do we want him to be better of course but for this situation this first test absolutely he passed that and I don't think it hurts you know the Steelers offensive guy saying to get that win for Arthur Smith uh in Atlanta he wasn't gloating wasn't cheering just kind of walked off the field but uh finally for you what's one takeaway uh you saw from an Arthur Smith offense man I thought with Arthur Smith I loved how he utilize the big athletes that we have we obviously know Pat F just signed a new contract but we feel like our tight ends we feel like our running game is something that we could take advantage of so you look at how many 12 13 14 Personnel groupings there were out there there meaning one running back in multiple tight ends but then his creativity and still being able to spread it out and still on occasion hit George pickings I thought that he played into our team's specific strengths and tried to highlight the things that our offensive players did well case in point looking at Justin Fields with some of these run pass options or even getting him on the perimeter where he was able to utilize his legs these were all things that were very specific to our personnel and I thought was a big reason why we were able to have the success that we did have have on Sunday all right Arthur thanks for your time we really appreciate it and as promised Mike rudo will be kind enough to join me once again as we wrap up the extra point presented by Microsoft Surface don't go [Music] anywhere Steeler Style presented by neighborhood Ford Store PNC UPMC and UPMC Health Plan watch our players coaches and special guests Walk The Runway to money for Steelers Charities get your tickets at steelers.com steelstyle [Music] and now it's Boswell back in punt formation oh my goodness ay Williams standing at his own 37 yd line waiting to receive this boot snap is good Boswell will kick it away and it's a low liner Avery Williams catches it at his own 40 drop immediately nice special teams Tackle by Scotty Miller uh can't say enough about BOS um not only in terms of him kicking the ball but but that punt um was timely and you just saw the blank look on his face he meant business Tri and I think it was cam Hayward last season called him a serial killer in his approach uh to the kicking game we saw him punt there said he hasn't done it since he entered the league with the Texans and it's not something he usually does usually just messes is around with it no but he he he got it done and uh the coverage Mike Tomlin referenced uh the great coverage by Scotty Miller and whoever that other Gunner was again Ben scronic who was activated the day before uh but he has played in the league before with the Rams and uh he knew what he was doing and uh just that that kind of resourcefulness goes a long way missy you know things happen in games it it rarely goes according to script you rarely get through a game where there aren't a couple of curveballs throwing at you that you have to kind of figure something out on the Fly and and get it done and uh all good sides they were able to do that all right uh Mike Tomlin said tomorrow during his press conference that happens here at noon he'll talk more about the quarterback situation uh what's your final thought on this one week one uh couple uh quick ones here uh defensively the division of labor uh El Landon Roberts started an inside linebacker and uh played 41% of the defense snaps pton Wilson the rookie played 43 Wilson was in during the nickel they leaned heavily on the nickel a lot of us were speculating that's the way they were going to go based on how Atlanta was expected to do things with three wide receiver sets I thought that worked really well and uh Mike Tomlin citing Justin Fields demeanor uh calling Fields steady uh saying Fields as solid as a rock uh he was maybe perfectly suited to go through the kind of goofy circumstances leading up to the game game and then working through some troubles in the game and you know outlasting the game if you will uh Mike Tomlin also talked about uh Justin Fields having Clear Eyes Missy and uh those of us who are fans of Friday Night Lights know clear eyes and Full Hearts can't lose all right well thanks so much to you tri for joining me here on the extra point presented by Microsoft Surface and also for Arthur Moes and his insight as always Mike Tom press conference Tuesday at noon we'll be back here next Monday to recap week two [Music]