The Steelers’ first game of the season gave them more than a 20-13 win over the Falcons. It also offered an early look at whether their edge rotation is becoming a real part of the defensive plan, or just a way to keep T.J. Watt from wearing down.
Watt said after the opener that the rotation helped create a “fresher, more flexible pass rush,” and he framed it in simple terms: “Getting less reps, but trying to exert as much as you possibly can on those reps, making them mean that much more.”
That idea was on display in a game where Watt still produced the kind of stat line that usually belongs to a one-man wrecking crew: two sacks, three tackles for loss and a pick-six. He also returned an interception for a touchdown early in the fourth quarter, his third career touchdown and first career pick-six.
The Steelers needed it. They opened the season by grinding out a one-score win over Atlanta, and the defense had to carry a heavy share of the load while the offense settled in. Chris Boswell’s 43-yard field goal put Pittsburgh on the board first, and Watt’s touchdown later in the game gave the Steelers the cushion they needed to finish the job.
The rotation conversation matters because it is not just about resting Watt for the sake of rest. Mike McCarthy said he didn’t want Watt averaging 60-plus plays because it wasn’t best for the player or the defense. That makes the opener a useful test case: if the Steelers are going to lean on a deeper edge group, the payoff has to show up in games like this one.
Watt said he prefers that tradeoff. He would rather play fewer snaps at full throttle and trust teammates to share the work, including Herbig, Sawyer and Highsmith. He also pointed to the flexibility of being able to switch sides with Alex Highsmith, saying, “Me and Alex [Highsmith] can flip sides allows us to do a lot more things schematically.”
That is the part worth watching beyond the box score. Watt’s production against Atlanta was obvious. What the Steelers are trying to learn is whether the rotation behind him can keep that level of pressure available late in games, not just in isolated bursts.
For one Sunday, it worked well enough to help Pittsburgh leave with a win and a clear defensive question to track going forward: was this opener the start of a more varied pass rush, or just a strong individual performance wrapped around a rotation?