ATLANTA — A season of high expectations began with a thud for the Atlanta Falcons.
Kirk Cousins struggled in his debut, hardly looking like a $180 million quarterback. Mercedes-Benz Stadium was sold out but sounded more like Pittsburgh South at times. And even with the Steelers forced to go with their backup quarterback, they prevailed 18-10 on Sunday.
One week into the 2024 campaign, the Falcons find themselves in a familiar place.
They have a losing record, which is how their last six seasons ended.
“We have to flush it,” Cousins said. “It’s disappointing, but you have to move forward and treat every game as its own entity. That’s where you go really after a win or a loss. That’s where your mind has to go.”
The Falcons signed Cousins to a four-year, $180 million contract that included $100 million in guaranteed money, believing he was just what they needed to snap their longest streak of losing seasons since the 1980s.
After the Matt Ryan era, Atlanta spent the last two seasons trying futilely to find his replacement. Marcus Mariota, Desmond Ridder and Taylor Heinicke failed to fill the void, so owner Arthur Blank wrote an enormous check to Cousins.
But there were few signs of improvement in Week 1. Cousins threw for only 155 yards, with two interceptions. The Falcons also lost a fumble, while the Steelers didn't have any turnovers with Justin Fields stepping in at quarterback for Russell Wilson, who was ruled out with a calf injury.
That was the difference, said new coach Raheem Morris, who took over the Falcons after Arthur Smith was fired.
“You can’t expect anything else when you turn the ball over three times,” Morris said. “Basically, that’s the story of the game.”
The Steelers won without scoring a touchdown, getting six field goals — three of them longer than 50 yards — from Chris Boswell.
This one stung even more when the Falcons saw who was calling plays on the opposite sideline. Smith took over as Pittsburgh's offensive coordinator after being dismissed by Atlanta, and the very first week of the season provided him with a bit of payback.
Cousins was sacked twice and faced plenty of pressure from a Steelers front led by T.J. Watt. Pittsburgh didn't do a whole lot of blitzing, getting to the Atlanta quarterback by mixing up their four-man rush packages.
It didn't help that it often sounded like a Pittsburgh home game, with thousands of towel-waving Steelers fans forcing the Falcons offense to go to silent counts to deal with the noise.
One such play apparently resulted in a crucial mistake by the Falcons in the third quarter.
With first down at the Steelers 32, tight end Ross Dwelley went in motion with Cousins appearing to motion for him to stay put. The shotgun snap hit Dwelley as he was running from one side of the line to the other, leading to a fumble that was recovered by Watt.
“It’s extremely demoralizing for an offense to be on a silent count at their home field,” Watt said. “Steeler nation is incredible.”
Even though the Falcons doled out huge money to sign Cousins, and made it clear he is their starter, disgruntled fans are sure to take note that the team also drafted Michael Penix Jr. at No. 8 overall.
If the 36-year-old Cousins has a few more performances like his first one in a Falcons uniform, the team could find itself embroiled in a quarterback controversy. Playing for the first time since an Achilles injury cut short his final season with the Vikings last October, he certainly looked uncomfortable in the pocket.
“It’s the Pittsburgh Steelers. They’re a good defense,” Morris said. "Maybe he didn’t get comfortable. Those are things you have to evaluate when you look at the tape. We’ve got to get comfortable, and we’ve got do it with an urgent manner.”
Even though it's just one game, the Falcons sure could've used a victory in light of their upcoming schedule.
They travel to Philadelphia next Monday night to face the Eagles, then return home for another prime-time game on Sept. 22 against the Kansas City Chiefs, the two-time reigning Super Bowl champions.
“The sky is the limit for us,” Falcons running back Bijan Robinson said. “But we have to do the little things right first and secure our blocks, don’t let anybody free, don’t let nobody loose. When we do that, I think we have the talent, the speed, and the physicality to get it done.”
