Steelers hold off Falcons 20-13 on Watt's interception return
T.J. Watt returned an interception 35 yards for a touchdown early in the fourth quarter and added two sacks as Pittsburgh held Atlanta to 2 of 12 on third down.
Pittsburgh beat Atlanta 20-13 on Sunday at Acrisure Stadium.
Chris Boswell's 43-yard field goal at 8:30 of the first quarter put Pittsburgh up 3-0. Cooper Rush's 23-yard touchdown pass to Bijan Robinson with 1:13 left in the quarter gave Atlanta a 7-3 lead. Boswell's 28-yarder at 12:28 of the second cut it to 7-6, and Aaron Rodgers' 6-yard pass to Pat Freiermuth at 10:39 put the Steelers ahead 13-7. Nick Folk's 51-yard field goal with 1:50 left in the third made it 13-10.
At 14:05 of the fourth, T.J. Watt intercepted Rush and returned it 35 yards for a touchdown and a 20-10 lead. Folk's 43-yard field goal at 10:35 brought Atlanta within 20-13, and neither team scored again.
Rodgers finished 24 of 40 for 221 yards and a touchdown. Michael Pittman Jr. caught 3 passes for 58 yards, and Jaylen Warren ran 10 times for 46. Watt had two sacks to go with the interception, and Payton Wilson made 13 tackles. Rush was 12 of 22 for 143 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. Robinson had 8 catches for 90 yards and 21 carries for 83, and Za'Darius Smith recorded two sacks for the Falcons.
Pittsburgh finished with 264 total yards to Atlanta's 238. The Falcons held the ball for 31:07 but converted 2 of 12 third downs; Pittsburgh was 3 of 13. Atlanta turned it over twice, Pittsburgh once, and the Falcons were penalized 9 times for 96 yards. Attendance was 66,089.