One matchup that could allow Steelers to dominate season opener against Falcons

The Steelers and Falcons spent the past week game-planning how to stop the opposing team and give themselves the best chance of emerging victorious in Week 1. Mike Tomlin's team will be in Atlanta for their first game of the season, and with how brutal Pittsburgh's schedule is down the stretch, he doesn't want to get off to a slow start.

Football is much like a strategy game, and finding and exploiting matchups is the key to success. Across the board, the Falcons and Steelers have players that could cancel out the impact of their counterparts. Cornerback A.J. Terrell could slow down George Pickens while Joey Porter Jr. could minimize the impact of wide receiver Drake London.

But every team is going to have some sort of weakness and a matchup that favors the Steelers.

The defining trait of the Steelers is their ability to get after the quarterback. T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith are one of the best edge rusher tandems in the NFL, and the emergence of Nick Herbig gives them an excellent third in the rotation. Meanwhile, the interior defensive line is at full strength, and second-year standout Keeanu Benton is poised for a breakout season.

Unfortunately, Pittsburgh's strength plays into the hands of the Falcons. Atlanta has one of the strongest offensive lines in the league. Chris Lindstrom is arguably the best guard in football, while their tackles are stable and reliable.

If you've watched The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, you know that the fortress of Helm's Deep had but one weakness. Its outer wall was solid rock except for a small culvert in space, which is a little more than a drain. That weakness on the Falcons' offensive line is Matthew Bergeron.

Steelers must unleash Cam Heyward against Matthew Bergeron

Lining up against Bergeron will be Cam Heyward (who just earned a three-year contract extension before the start of the 2024 NFL season). At 35 years old, Heyward isn't the spring chicken he once was, but he's no stranger to making young offensive linemen look silly.

Last year, Bergeron was thrust into the Falcons starting lineup for all seventeen games as a rookie. The 2023 second-round pick didn't fall completely flat, but his performance and consistency were not on par with that of his fellow offensive linemen. On 1,129 offensive snaps at left guard, Bergeron earned a less-than-respectable overall grade of just 59.1 from Pro Football Focus. His 57.1 pass block grade for the season was even worse.

Heyward is coming off a season in which he dealt with a significant groin injury, but he's finally back to full strength and ready to prove why the Steelers made the right decision keeping him around for what will likely be the remainder of his NFL career. His matchup against Bergeron is the most exploitable for Pittsburgh this week.

If Heyward needs a break, the Steelers could send a young, fresh Keeanu Benton to go against Bergeron. Between the two -- and perhaps some help from veteran Larry Ogunjobi -- the Steelers should be able to take the fastest path the the quarterback.

Meanwhile, Kirk Cousins is playing his first game as a member of the Falcons in Week 1 and is coming off a season-ending Achilles injury. Cousins didn't possess much mobility before the injury, and at 36 years old, he's not getting any quicker in the pocket.

If the Steelers can use Cam Heyward to exploit this one-on-one matchup against Matthew Bergeron, Cousins is going to have a hard time getting comfortable in the pocket and finding success in the passing game. Like Helm's Deep, Pittsburgh needs to blow up the one weakness of an otherwise impenetrable wall which is the Falcons' offensive line.