Kirk Cousins struggles in debut as Falcons fall to Steelers

ATLANTA — Two new-look franchises kicked off the 2024 season in Atlanta before a Mercedes-Benz Stadium that sounded like an even split between fanbases. While new faces dotted both the Steelers and Falcons rosters, a 10-year veteran — Pittsburgh kicker Chris Boswell — made all the difference, spoiling the Atlanta debut of Kirk Cousins as the Steelers won 18-10.

Atlanta has bet a whole lot of hope and a whole lot of money on Cousins, who is returning from a season-ending injury suffered last year while playing with the Vikings. Cousins won praise for his veteran leadership throughout camp, but leadership in camp doesn't necessarily translate to points in the regular season.

The Cousins Era began in Atlanta with three straight Bijan Robinson runs to the left — which, all things considered, isn’t necessarily the worst strategy. New head coach Raheem Morris and new offensive coordinator Zac Robinson played it conservative early on, keeping the offense on a tight leash. When Cousins did get too cute, throwing into double coverage late in the first quarter, he paid for it — Pittsburgh’s DeShon Elliott picked him off, and the Steelers turned that into one of their three field goals in the first half.

Self-inflicted woes grounded the Steelers early on. Justin Fields, pressed into service when Russell Wilson was declared out just 90 minutes before the game, had little trouble moving the Steelers between the 30s, but struggled to get Pittsburgh within sight of the end zone.

The first big play of either side — Fields’ 36-yard strike to George Pickens that would have set up the Steelers in the red zone — came off the board thanks to Pickens’ offensive pass interference. T.J. Watt’s offsides penalty later in the half was even more costly, nullifying his strip-sack and fumble recovery.

Disaster dodged, Cousins took advantage on the very next play, finding a wide-open Kyle Pitts in the end zone for a 12-yard touchdown pass with just 38 seconds remaining in the half.

That play should have put the Falcons up 10-6 at halftime, but a Falcons defensive lapse allowed Pickens to get free in Atlanta territory to set up yet another Steeler field goal as time expired.

A promising Atlanta third-quarter drive ended abruptly when Cousins fumbled the snap and Watt fell on it. Nine plays and 24 yards later, Boswell punched in his fourth field goal of the afternoon to retake the lead, 12-10.

The Steelers defense found its footing in the second half, hassling, hurrying and overwhelming Cousins. But the offense couldn’t hold up its end of the deal. Even as Pickens was running free in the Atlanta secondary, the Steelers couldn’t get any closer than shouting distance to the end zone. Two more long Boswell field goals in the third quarter put the score at 15-10 Pittsburgh with 15 minutes remaining in regulation.

The Atlanta offense continued to struggle throughout the second half, going fumble-punt-punt-punt the first four drives. On Atlanta's final serious opportunity, down just five points and in Pittsburgh territory, Cousins threw his second interception of the day, a devastating backbreaker that sent thousands of towel-waving Steelers fans in attendance into hysterics. Boswell turned that interception into yet another field goal, his sixth of the afternoon.

Cousins finished the day with 155 yards on 16 of 26 completions, with one touchdown and two interceptions. The day ended, appropriately enough, with a sack ... and a whole lot of new concerns for the new-look Falcons.