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Can the Steelers bring home a Week 1 win? Pittsburgh’s three keys vs. Atlanta Falcons

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Can the Steelers bring home a Week 1 win? Pittsburgh’s three keys vs. Atlanta Falcons


The Pittsburgh Steelers will head to Atlanta on Sunday in hopes of claiming their first win of the season. The matchup is primed to be tough, with the Falcons looking like a much-improved team overall.

However, the Steelers still have some advantages they could exploit against the Falcons, who did not play their starters in the preseason. Here are the Steelers’ three keys to beating the Falcons:

1. Keep Grady Jarrett and Matt Judon in check

While the Falcons have a wonderful secondary with Jessie Bates, Justin Simmons, and A.J. Terrell, the Steelers will lose this one from the jump if they can not stop Grady Jarrett and Matt Judon from taking over the game up front. If you want, feel free to throw David Onyemata in here, too. The Steelers will have to keep Russell Wilson or Justin Fields upright to win this game. They need to give their wide receiver and run game a chance. Spencer Anderson is starting at left guard with rookie Zach Frazier at center. That matchup feels like one where Jarrett should dominate, but Anderson and the team feel up to the task.

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“Well, he’s definitely a twitchy rusher,” Anderson said. “We know who he is and how great he is. But there, you focus on yourself and your technique. You play with good pad level and hand usage. You have to focus on yourself just as much.”

If the Steelers can run the ball between the tackles and force Atlanta’s linebackers to make plays, the Steelers might have a chance to ride Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren in this game. That has to be the plan, but it all starts up front.

2. Beanie Bishop balls out and proves himself

The Steelers, defensively, have one glaring hole in this game. Yet, it is actually a hole, or is it just an unproven player? Slot cornerback Beanie Bishop played well in the summer but looked just okay against the Houston Texans in his first starting spot in the preseason.

The Steelers know the Falcons will have an X-crossed right towards No. 31. Until he proves he can stop guys like Kyle Pitts, Drake London, and Darnell Mooney, the Falcons will go right to them in the slot.

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“You never know. I just look at it like this. Like most things, we always prepare our guys so that if you’re a young guy out there, you just have to be ready. You will be tested and if you, if you handle the test, then they’ll go away from you. But if you don’t handle the test, you can expect it to keep coming,” defensive coordinator Teryl Austin said about Bishop.

The Falcons will try to attack him, but Bishop will not shy away from the challenge that the Falcons will likely bring him. If he can back up the challenge and show what he is made of, the Steelers can slow down this talented Falcons offense.

3. The ‘other eligibles’ step up

The Pittsburgh Steelers have two standouts in the passing game that will stick out in George Pickens and Pat Freiermuth. Yet, with Terrell, Bates, and Simmons in the secondary, they can erase the two of them through coverages. The Steelers might have to win their other matchups.

As stated above, the other obvious outlet is the running game. Warren and Harris figure to be the two big time players featured. However, the Steelers might need one big play from someone else. That could be Van Jefferson, Calvin Austin III, or someone else. The Steelers do not have the juice in the passing game to expect those two to be enough against a secondary like this on paper. Someone else has to step up, and if one player does, it might be enough to crawl the Steelers over the finish line.

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Pittsburgh hosts Eastern Michigan after Minor’s 23-point showing

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Pittsburgh hosts Eastern Michigan after Minor’s 23-point showing


Eastern Michigan Eagles (1-0) at Pittsburgh Panthers (2-0)

Pittsburgh; Monday, 7 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Pittsburgh hosts Eastern Michigan after Damarco Minor scored 23 points in Pittsburgh’s 78-60 victory against the Longwood Lancers.

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Pittsburgh finished 17-15 overall a season ago while going 13-4 at home. The Panthers averaged 75.9 points per game last season, 15.5 on free throws and 24.9 from beyond the arc.

Eastern Michigan finished 9-10 in MAC games and 6-10 on the road a season ago. The Eagles averaged 12.4 assists per game on 26.0 made field goals last season.

___

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.



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Steelers Sign Veteran RB to 53-Man Roster

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Steelers Sign Veteran RB to 53-Man Roster


PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Steelers are elevating a familiar face to the 53-man roster for their Week 10 matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers. With the team entering the contest with just 52 players on their active roster, they are dipping into their practice squad to fill out the group entering SoFi Stadium.

The Steelers announced multiple roster moves ahead of the game, highlighted by veteran running back Trey Sermon receiving another elevation to the active roster. This will be the fourth game Sermon plays for the Steelers this season. In his three previous appearances, he has yet to receive any carries or receptions on the offensive side, playing strictly in a special teams role.

Football player runs for touchdown

Pittsburgh Steelers running back Trey Sermon (27) score a touchdown during the second half of the first preseason game where the Jacksonville Jaguars hosted the Pittsburgh Steelers Saturday Aug. 9, 2025, at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla. [Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union] / Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

This is Sermon’s fifth season in the NFL. Originally selected in the third round of the 2021 NFL Draft by the San Francisco 49ers, he played in nine games in his first season. He accumulated 167 rushing yards and a touchdown on 41 carries with the 49ers before joining the Philadelphia Eagles for the 2022 campaign.

After another one-year stop in Philly, he spent the 2023 and 2024 seasons with the Indianapolis Colts. He appeared in 31 out of a possible 34 games over those two seasons, picking up 319 rushing yards, 112 receiving yards and two rushing scores.

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That’s what drew the Steelers to Sermon this past summer. With 42 NFL games under his belt, the 26-year-old has plenty of experience despite being a relatively young running back.

The Steelers also saw the special teams allure in Sermon, and that was the deciding factor in bringing him in and keeping him around during the 2025 season. That versatility and special teams ability has earned him four appearances with the team and a high level of trust from special teams coach Danny Smith.

Coming off a 55-yard team rushing performance in their Week 9 win, can Sermon find his way into the offensive game plan? It’s unlikely with Jaylen Warren and Kenneth Gainwell still occupying the top two slots and rookie Kaleb Johnson slowly earning back more snaps after a justified slide down the depth chart at the start of the regular season. Still, the Steelers’ offense has yet to find a groove.

Sermon has shown he’s a change of pace back and special teams contributor in the NFL. If the Steelers are interested in shaking up any part of their offense, they can look to Sermon’s 6’0”, 215-pound frame to play a more powerful type of running football.

Otherwise, the Steelers have another trusted special teams player at their disposal in a crucial game against the 6-3 Chargers.

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Traffic: Sunday morning road closures coming to four Pittsburgh neighborhoods for P3R race

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Traffic: Sunday morning road closures coming to four Pittsburgh neighborhoods for P3R race






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