T.J. Watt's late pick-6 pushes sluggish Steelers past injury-laden Falcons 20-13

PITTSBURGH (AP) — T.J. Watt began his 10th season by trying to move past the noise that followed his ninth.

The noise that said the Pittsburgh Steelers star outside linebacker had lost a step, maybe two, after quiet and injury-marred 2025. The noise that wondered if his time as a singular gamewrecker was over as his 32nd birthday neared.

Watt provided an emphatic answer Sunday: not quite yet.

The former high school tight end turned back the clock in a 20-13 season-opening win over Atlanta, leaping to pick off a pass from Cooper Rush and racing — well, after stumbling over his own feet — 35 yards for a decisive fourth-quarter touchdown as Pittsburgh made Mike McCarthy's debut coaching his hometown team a success.

“That’s what he does,” longtime teammate Alex Highsmith said. “He's the best in the world.”

Even if Watt didn't play like it at times last season, when the four-time All-Pro finished with 7 sacks — tied for the second-fewest of his career — and missed several games late following a freak dry needling injury.

Watt already put a dent in that total in the opener, chasing down Rush twice as part of a defensive effort that sacked the late replacement for Tua Tagovailoa four times, swatted away six passes and never let him get comfortable.

That discomfort was never more noticeable on Watt's second career touchdown, when he anticipated a dump off to Robinson and snatched the ball out of midair just after Rush released it. The next few seconds were chaos, as Watt scrambled downfield, briefly lost his footing and popped back up before he was touched.

“I had no bearing at all,” Watt said. “I'm sure the fall didn't look too graceful but glad someone told me to get up and keep running.”

The Steelers needed a vintage Watt performance to overcome a sluggish start by Aaron Rodgers and company. Rodgers began his 22nd and final season by throwing for 221 yards and a touchdown to tight end Pat Freiermuth but was hampered by a couple of drops by DK Metcalf and a running game that did little to take pressure off him.

Yet there were also signs of potential, particularly late in the fourth quarter when the Steelers took over deep in their territory. Rodgers completed three passes during the clinching drive — one each to Metcalf, Michael Pittman and Darnell Washington — as Pittsburgh drained the final 4:16 off the clock.

“Being able to end the game on our terms, with Aaron on the ball, taking a knee, you know you can’t take that for granted,” Freiermuth said.

The ball eventually ended up in the hands of McCarthy, who grew up a few miles from downtown Pittsburgh and is well aware of the expectations that come with the job. The first of what he hopes are many victorious afternoons didn't go particularly smoothly, especially for the offense that he was hired specifically to fine tune.

Not that it mattered when Rodgers handed him the game ball, which McCarthy called a “special moment” as they started a reunion from their time in Green Bay that included a Super Bowl win. There's also a part of him that's ready to get all the firsts out of the way so he can lean into the rhythm of the season.

“It's time to move on and get team victories from here on,” McCarthy said. “I'm not one for attention. So the homecoming has been great. Just glad to get this one under our belt.”

The Falcons have plenty of questions to answer this season under first-year coach Kevin Stefanski.

Running back Bijan Robinson is not one of them.

The young star did everything he could to keep the Falcons in it, accounting for 173 of the Falcons' 238 total yards and Atlanta's lone touchdown on a swing pass in which he split three defenders and raced to the end zone.

“Bijan's a great player,” Stefanski said. “We're going to keep leaning on him in all these games, and we have to.”

It just wasn't enough for the Falcons to win in Pittsburgh for the first time in franchise history. Not on a day when Atlanta had 96 yards in penalties and kicker Nick Folk, who had just one missed field goal each of the past three seasons, was off target on his first two kicks when the outcome was still in doubt.

“Nick's not going to be perfect this year, I don't expect him to be perfect,” Stefanski said. “I don't expect our football team to be perfect. But you want your guys to respond to it, so I know he'll respond.”

Falcons cornerback A.J. Terrell was hurt breaking up a pass in the third quarter. He missed a series but did return. Defensive tackle De'Shawn Hand exited with a knee injury in the first half and did not return.

The Steelers played without cornerback Joey Porter Jr., who missed most of training camp with a back issue. He did practice during the week, though McCarthy said Porter's absence was due to his health and not contract talks that broke down without Porter signing an extension.

Falcons: host NFC South rival Carolina next Sunday.

Steelers: head to New England next Sunday.

See AP’s full NFL coverage here

Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebacker T.J. Watt (90) intercepts a pass made by Atlanta Falcons quarterback Cooper Rush (13) during an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy runs calls on the sideline during an NFL football game against the Atlanta Falcons, Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (8) looks to pass during an NFL football game against the Atlanta Falcons, Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Justin Berl)

Atlanta Falcons running back Bijan Robinson (7) runs the ball in for a touchdown during an NFL football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Justin Berl)

Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebacker T.J. Watt (90) returns an interception in for a touchdown during an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

HOUSTON (AP) — Josh Allen didn’t wait for the question he knew was coming on Sunday after finally leading the Buffalo Bills to a road win over the Houston Texans in a season-opening thriller.

“We do like Reliant Stadium,” he said with a big smile. “Woo.”

Allen threw a 34-yard touchdown pass to Joshua Palmer with 1:36 remaining to lift the Bills to a 36-31 victory in a back-and-forth game.

Allen had 334 yards passing with two touchdowns and ran for two more scores after losing his previous four games at Reliant Stadium.

“It feels good to start the season off right,” Allen said.

It was the Bills' first win at Houston since Nov. 19, 2006.

The Texans led 31-30 when Allen split two defenders to find Palmer. The 2-point conversion failed.

One play earlier, Houston's Kamari Lassiter got his hands on a pass from Allen in the end zone but couldn’t grab the interception.

“We got lucky,” Palmer said. “He dropped it. Next play I caught it.”

The Texans had a chance to win in the closing seconds, but Greg Rousseau had his second strip-sack of the day, taking down C.J. Stroud at the Buffalo 28. Terrel Bernard recovered to seal the victory.

It was a disappointing outing for Houston's vaunted defense, which led the NFL in yards allowed and ranked second in points allowed last season.

“We had multiple opportunities to make plays, had chances to make plays on the football and we didn’t make plays,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said.

Houston allowed its most points since a 36-22 loss to Cleveland on Dec. 24, 2003.

“We’ve got to do a better job, especially closing out the game,” defensive end Will Anderson said. “It just wasn’t our standard. That’s not who we are. That’s not who we want to be as a defense. ”

Dalton Kincaid had five receptions for 130 yards and DJ Moore had five catches for 100 yards and a touchdown in his Buffalo debut after a trade from Chicago.

Buffalo's Joe Brady started his head coaching career with a win after he was promoted from offensive coordinator following Sean McDermott’s firing after nine seasons.

“You saw a lot of the conviction, everything we sort of talk about,” Brady said. “We didn’t care how pretty. There’s no such thing as an ugly win.”

David Montgomery, who was traded from Detroit this offseason, had a three-TD day in his Houston debut. He had scoring runs of 1 and 18 yards in the first half and his 7-yard touchdown reception put Houston up 28-27 early in the fourth.

Stroud threw for 274 yards and two touchdowns but lost two fumbles.

Tyler Bass' 33-yard field goal made it 30-28 Buffalo with 10 1/2 minutes to go.

Ka'imi Fairbairn’s 58-yard field goal put Houston back ahead with about seven minutes remaining before Allen’s game-winning drive.

Buffalo went up 10-7 when Allen scrambled for a 21-yard touchdown early in the second quarter.

Montgomery’s second score came when he scampered 18 yards untouched to make it 14-10 with about five minutes left in the first half.

Lassiter was flagged for pass interference on Moore in the end zone to give the Bills the ball on the 1 on their next drive. Allen’s scoring dive two plays later put Buffalo up 17-14.

Moore grabbed a ball in front of a diving Reed Blankenship and dashed 43 yards to the end zone later in the second to push the lead to 24-14.

A 12-yard touchdown reception by Nico Collins cut the lead to three at halftime.

Rousseau sacked Stroud on Houston’s first drive, causing a fumble that Ed Oliver recovered on the Houston 32. That led to Bass' 46-yard field goal.

A 1-yard run by Montgomery put the Texans up 7-3 near the end of the first quarter. The score was set up by a 25-yard reception by Collins three plays earlier.

Moore and Kincaid gave the Bills just the second game in franchise history where a tight end and a receiver both had 100 yards receiving. The first time it happened was when Andre Reed had 144 yards receiving and Pete Metzelaars added 122 in Week 2 of the 1992 season.

Brady raved about what Moore brings to the team.

“He opens it up for everybody,” Brady said. “He opens it up for Dalton Kincaid, for the run game and James Cook. He opens it up for Keon Coleman... and Josh Palmer. And then on big-play opportunities, he made them. We’re so much better with him.”

Houston LB Jake Hummel left in the second half with an abdominal injury.

Bills: Host Detroit on Thursday night in their first game at their new stadium.

Texans: Host Cincinnati next Sunday.

See AP’s full NFL coverage here

Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud (7) calls the play during the second half of an NFL football game against the Buffalo Bills, Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/Eric Christian Smith)

Houston Texans cornerback Kamari Lassiter (3) breaks up a pass against the Buffalo Bills during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Buffalo Bills wide receiver Joshua Palmer (5) runs the ball into the end zone for a touchdown past Houston Texans cornerback Kamari Lassiter, right, during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Buffalo Bills wide receiver Joshua Palmer runs the ball into the end zone for a touchdown during the second half of an NFL football game against the Houston Texans, Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17) throws an incomplete pass forced by Houston Texans defensive end Danielle Hunter, second from left, during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)