Pittsburgh quarterback Kenny Pickett engineered scoring drives on each of his two series as the Steelers routed the host Atlanta Falcons 24-0 on Thursday.
Pittsburgh (3-0) opened the game with an eight-play, 92-yard march that ended with a 1-yard touchdown run by Najee Harris. The Falcons then went three-and-out, and Calvin Austin III returned the punt 21 yards to the Atlanta 29-yard line. Three plays later, Jaylen Warren ran for an 8-yard score.
Chris Boswell kicked a 38-yard field goal late in the first quarter, and Anthony McFarland Jr.'s 5-yard TD run in the second quarter capped the scoring.
Pickett finished 4 of 4 for 86 yards. Mitchell Trubisky (7 of 9, 54 yards), Mason Rudolph (3 of 7, 15 yards) and Tanner Morgan (1 of 4, minus-4 yards) also saw action at QB for Pittsburgh. McFarland gained 55 yards on 10 carries.
The Falcons (1-1-1) managed just 199 total yards, with 196 coming from quarterback Logan Woodside on 24-of-31 passing. Taylor Heinicke didn't complete either of his two passes. Regular QB Desmond Ridder sat out. Keilahn Harris had six receptions for 71 yards.
--Field Level Media
Pittsburgh | Atlanta | |
Anthony McFarland Jr. | Player | Carlos Washington |
10 | Attempts | 13 |
55 | Yards | 27 |
5.5 | Avg Yards | 2.1 |
1 | Touchdowns | 0 |
31 | Long | 6 |
Pittsburgh | Atlanta | |
George Pickens | Player | Keilahn Harris |
1 | Receptions | 6 |
35 | Yards | 71 |
35.0 | Avg Yards | 11.8 |
0 | Touchdowns | 0 |
35 | Long | 26 |
Yards | Scoring | Defense | ||||||
Team | Tot | Rus | Pas | TD | FG | INT | Sck | FF |
Pittsburgh | 311 | 175 | 136 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 5.0 | 2 |
Atlanta | 199 | 40 | 159 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 | 0 |