We are just days away from the Pittsburgh Steelers' regular season opener against the Atlanta Falcons, and there's a lot to be excited about as new head coach Mike McCarthy prepares his team for a battle with an NFC South squad.
From Atlanta's edge rush conundrum to health clearly favoring one team in the matchup, here's a look at three reasons for optimism in Pittsburgh's Week 1 game versus the Falcons.
Falcons' starting edge rusher woes
Atlanta will be down both of its former first-round edge rushers against Pittsburgh, as Jalon Walker is set to miss the season after tearing his ACL, while James Pearce Jr. is suspended for the first six games. Unfortunately for Pittsburgh, the offensive tackle situation could even things out, but any team missing its starting edge rush tandem
is already playing from behind.
Tua time vs. A-rod
It's hard to find any Falcons fans confident in the team's direction with Tagovailoa under center. Michael Penix Jr. will be inactive, Cooper Rush will be the backup, and Tagovailoa will start. Even at 42 years old, Aaron Rodgers gives the Steelers a big advantage over the Falcons at quarterback.
Healthy at last
As evidenced by Wednesday's injury report, the Steelers are finally healthy after seeing multiple starters and key backups go down with injuries. Joey Porter Jr. (back) is the only player dealing with any type of health issue, but his situation may be more related to contract talks than anything else.
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This article originally appeared on Steelers Wire: 3 reasons for optimism in Steelers' Week 1 matchup vs. Falcons
