Steelers fans are busy celebrating their team's road victory against the Falcons as the team gets back to the drawing board. Not everything went perfectly for Pittsburgh in Week 1, but the offense was able to ride the coattails of the defense to secure the win.
Unfortunately, Mike Tomlin's team wasn't able to exit Atlanta unscathed, and one important player is now lost for the season with an injury. Meanwhile, the AFC standings look as good as we could have hoped entering Week 2. Here's the latest Steelers news.
Cameron Johnston suffers season-ending injury
Late in the Steelers' Week 1 game against the Falcons, punter Cameron Johnston had his plant leg hit on a punt. The injury caused his right knee to buckle as he went down in pain.
The injury looked severe at the time, and Mike Tomlin noted in his post-game press conference that Johnston's injury was significant. On September 9, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network confirmed that Johnston suffered a season-ending knee injury against the Falcons.
In his absence, kicker Chris Boswell was forced to be the emergency punter. The Steelers added former player Corliss Waitman to fill the void at the position.
Steelers top PFF grades from Week 1
While T.J. Watt had two strip sacks called back during the Falcons game, Pro Football Focus awarded him for his efforts in Week 1. Watt led all Steelers with an outstanding 95.3 overall grade from Pro Football Focus.
The highest-graded Steelers vs the Falcons in Week 1:
— PFF PIT Steelers (@PFF_Steelers) September 9, 2024
🥇 T.J. Watt - 95.3
🥈 Cameron Heyward - 89.4
🥉 DeShon Elliott - 86.0
🏅 Justin Fields - 75.9
🏅 James Daniels - 75.8
(min. 25 snaps) pic.twitter.com/GA4z1jlPrr
Unsurprisingly, the first three names on this list came on the defensive side of the football, as Cameron Heyward and DeShon Elliott earned grades of 89.4 and 86.0, respectively. Quarterback Justin Fields and offensive guard James Daniels rounded out the top five.
Watt currently leads all NFL edge rushers in overall grade from PFF.
AFC North standings entering Week 2
The Pittsburgh Steelers were the only team in the AFC North to emerge victorious after Week 1. On Thursday Night Football, the Baltimore Ravens fell in a close contest to the Kansas City Chiefs. On Sunday, the Browns dropped a home game against the Dallas Cowboys.
Neither of these outcomes was surprising, but many fans were shocked to see the Cincinnati Bengals put up a dud against the New England Patriots on their own turf in Week 1. Cincy was defeated 16-10 as Joe Burrow and the offense looked lifeless.
The Steelers currently own sole possession of first place in the AFC North heading into Week 2. We expect their rivals to rebound soon, but if Pittsburgh can take care of business against the Broncos in Denver, they can keep their pole position in the standings.
Broncos could be without star left tackle vs. Steelers
Speaking of playing the Broncos, Denver could be without one of their best players in their Week 2 matchup against Pittsburgh. Starting left tackle Garrett Bolles exited the Broncos' Week 1 contest in the fourth quarter with a lower-leg injury.
Broncos head coach Sean Payton later spoke on his health -- saying that Bolles will be 'fine', but believes he bruised his ankle.
This contusion could be significant enough to keep him out of action when the Steelers take the field in Denver against the Broncos in Week 2. Alex Highsmith could be getting a favorable matchup against left tackle Matt Peart if Bolles can't go on Sunday. Peart has started just seven games since 2020 (only one start in the past three years).