The Atlanta Falcons (5-7) are set to host the Pittsburgh Steelers (4-7) at home on Sunday, December 4.
And the Falcons’ starting quarterback Marcus Mariota is well aware that he and the team will have their hands full against a top-ranked rushing defense.
“Well, first and foremost, (it) starts off with Cam Heyward and T.J. Watt. And then you look in the back end, Minkah Fitzpatrick is playing at a high level,” Mariota said during a pregame press conference, via D. Orlando Ledbetter of The AJC. “Week in and week out, we talked about, it’s always gonna be a challenge. But this will be fun.”
Both Teams Will Be Tested in Week 13
The Falcons are up against a Steelers defensive front that features the return of T.J. Watt, Cam Heyward and Alex Highsmith, who has a career-high 10 sacks on the season.
There is no doubt that the Falcons’ run game will be put to the test against the Steelers’ run defense which ranks sixth across the league, allowing a total of 104 rushing yards a game. But, that doesn’t mean the Steelers won’t be tested either as Atlanta boasts the NFL’s fourth-ranked rushing offense, averaging 160 yards a game.
And this Falcons’ run game is a special one and stars four players who have 300 or more rushing yards entering Week 13: Cordarrelle Patterson ( 506 yards), rookie Tyler Allgier (552 yards), rookie Caleb Huntley (347 yards) and quarterback Marcus Mariots (421 yards).
“I think the No. 1 thing is you have to stop the main runs,” Pittsburgh’s defensive coordinator Teryl Austin said Thursday, via the team’s official website. “The main runs, they do all the time. They’re going to have some quarterback runs they do that they mix in or sprinkle in to keep you honest. The bottom line is that the main run game is the main run game. And you’d better defend that. They have a really good run game. They have that stretch where they’re getting guys on the ground, they’re cutting you and getting holes and seams. And the guys run hard.
“They’re one-cut runners and they get vertical. That’s the one you had better defend. You’ve got a plan for quarterback mobility. But you had better defend the main things first.”
Falcons Will Rock Their Red Hot Helmets
The Falcons are bringing sexy back on Sunday with their full 1966 throwback look.
In addition to the 1966 red helmet replica, the players will rep a black 1966 throwback uniform, which we’ve already seen them wear earlier this season in their 28-14 win over the San Francisco 49ers at home.
It’s beautiful
As shown above, the red helmet features a gray facemask along with three stripes painted down the middle [white, black and gold] which represent Georgia Tech and the University of Georgia.
The Falcons have not worn the throwback helmets since 2013, prior to when the league banned teams from wearing multiple helmets. However, that rule was lifted in 2021 and teams are allowed to have two sets of helmets as long as they are the same make, model and size as the player’s original helmet.
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Falcons QB Marcus Mariota Reacts to Steelers Matchup