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PITTSBURGH – The Falcons never won a football match at Steel City and did not get close on Sunday.
The injury-ridden defense continued to be a heavy responsibility as the Steelers defeated the Falcons 41-17 in front of more than 64,000 supporters waving a towel Sunday at Heinz Field.
Offensive halfback James Conner, who replaces Le'Veon Bell while he is holding up, had 110 yards in 21 carries and two touchdowns to give the Steelers offense the advantage. He added four catches for 75 yards and wide catcher Antonio Brown caught six passes for 101 yards and touchdowns.
The Steelers improved to 2-2-1 while the Falcons dropped to 1-4.
The Steelers have avoided starting 0-3 at home for the first time since 1986. The Falcons now have 0-7-1 in Pittsburgh.
It was only 13-10 at halftime, but the Falcons moved away in the second half as a result of a cold foul.
Here are the five things we learned from the loss:
1. The defense is not very good. After giving up the touchdowns on the first two possessions of the match, the Falcons defense began to calm down.
Before stopping in the second quarter, the defense awarded points to 12 of the previous 15 possessions, including 11 touchdowns. After the Falcons scored to put the score at 13-7, the defense scored one in three goals. After a placement on the court, the defense had another stop.
STORIES TRENDS:
But then, the offense has become cold.
2. Contest filled with penalties. The Steelers and Falcons entered the game as two of the most penalized teams in the NFL and they did not disappoint.
The Steelers entered the game with 42 penalties, the highest in the NFL, and the Falcons placed seventh at 32.
In addition to Pittsburgh, only Philadelphia (35), Jacksonville (35), Indianapolis (34), Houston (34) and Kansas City (34) had more penalties accepted than the Falcons.
At the finish of the fourth quarter, the Falcons received seven penalties for 75 yards and the Steelers seven for 58 yards.
Recruits were part of the problem.
Rookie wide receiver Russell Gage received a fair catch interference penalty in the second quarter. Falcons linebacker Foyesade Oluokun had a useless and ridiculous penalty penalty in the third quarter.
In addition, the Falcons had two procedural penalties. An illegal training on a wild cat game and a defensive offside Vic Beasley as their first two penalties.
Falling 34-17 in the fourth quarter, the Falcons were sentenced to a penalty of 12 men on the field.
3. Jones vs Brown. Perhaps the two best receivers of the last decade, Julio Jones and Brown, have not had spectacular games.
It was the first time that they were playing together in an NFL game. At the previous meeting between the teams in 2014, Jones had not played.
Jones did not get his first shot in the game until 1:34 pm
Jones finished with five catches for 62 yards.
The Falcons were down 17 when they sent the ball to Jones.
4. Return of Freeman. The return of the Devonta Freeman offenseman did not help much.
Freeman ran eight times for 32 yards, including a 20-yard gain. He caught two passes for nine yards.
Freeman missed the previous three games with a knee contusion.
In the absence of a rushed attack, Ryan was sacked six times, including a fourth-quarter bag by T.J. Watt that led to the Steelers' final touchdown.
5. Report of injury. Falcons defensive tackle Takk McKinley left the game in the second quarter with cramps. He returned to the game later.
Cornerback Desmond Trufant was assessed for a concussion in the third quarter. The Steelers took advantage of his absence to launch a touchdown pass to Brown with rookie Isaiah Oliver in the cover.
The 9-yard touchdown pass gave the Steelers a 20-10 lead with 3:42 remaining in the third quarter.
© 2018 Cox Media Group.
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