Steelers open Week 1 as road underdogs against Kirk Cousins' Falcons

When you look at the Steelers' 2024 schedule, it's not hard to envision things getting ugly down the stretch. Beginning in Week 12, Pittsburgh will play the Bengals, Ravens, and Browns two times each while also matching up against the Eagles and Chiefs. Because of this, even Week 1 against the Atlanta Falcons should be considered a 'must-win' game.

After their road preseason finale against the Detroit Lions, Pittsburgh gets a week off before traveling to Atlanta to kick off back-to-back road games to begin the 2024 season. Before joining the Steelers as the new offensive coordinator, Arthur Smith's Falcons were a disappointing 7-10 team for three consecutive years.

Despite their struggles, as well as recent coaching changes and roster turnover, the Falcons open as three-point home favorites over the Pittsburgh Steelers, courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook. Mike Tomlin's team has a moneyline of +124 in this contest and the game's projected point total is set at 42.

Home-field advantage plays a factor, and this game would be considered a pick'em on a neutral playing field. Though the Steelers' roster is stronger on paper, Atlanta has something Pittsburgh does not: an extremely efficient quarterback.

Kirk Cousins is the reason why Steelers are not road favorites in Week 1

Mike Tomlin recently named Russell Wilson as Pittsburgh's starting quarterback to begin the 2024 season. As much as we'd love to convince ourselves Wilson is in the same tier as Kirk Cousins, that's not what the tape suggests.

Though both quarterbacks are in their mid-30s, Cousins has been a master at going through his progressions and delivering the football with pinpoint accuracy. This has not been Wilson's forte at any stage of his career, and his numbers were inflated on a bad Broncos team in 2023.

Cousins often gets a bad rep for the lack of playoff success over his career, but as a regular-season quarterback, his efficiency is on par with most signal-callers in the league. In 2023, Cousins recorded a passer rating of 103.8 in eight games before suffering a season-ending Achilles injury. This impressive passer rating was the result of 18 passing touchdowns in half a season to go with 7.9 air yards per attempt and a 69.5 percent completion rate.

The veteran quarterback is on a new team, so even oddsmakers can't say for sure how he will play from the gate. But considering he's been the apotome of consistency in the regular season, it's safe to say the Falcons have an advantage at quarterback over the Steelers in Week 1.

In Pittsburgh, many believe Justin Fields was not given a fair shake to earn the starting job -- a job that was reportedly promised to Wilson before the Steelers traded to Fields. Wilson could be on a short leash if things don't go well early in the season, and the uncertainty at quarterback gives Atlanta a slight edge over Pittsburgh in Week 1.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.