But after hitting a couple of passes to running back Jaylen Warren and tight end Pat Freiermuth to pick up a first down, Fields rolled to his left and threw back across the field to the right side to find George Pickens for a 23-yard gain to set Boswell up for his final field goal to trim the lead to 10-9 at the half.
“We gave up a touchdown at the end of the half, but our offense got a field goal to respond,” said Tomlin. “That was important.”
The Steelers regained the lead midway through the third quarter. After going three-and-out on their opening possession of the second half – their first three-and-out of the game – the Steelers got the ball back when Atlanta had a bad snap and Watt fell on the loose ball at the Pittsburgh 38.
That helped set Boswell up for a 56-yard field goal as the Steelers grabbed a 12-10 lead.
The Steelers then got the ball back quickly again, as Montravius Adams picked up the team’s first sack of the season to snuff out an Atlanta possession.
After the Atlanta punt, Fields connected with George Pickens for a 40-yard gain to the Atlanta 28. The drive stalled out, however, and Boswell kicked his fifth field goal of the game, this one from 40 yards to give the Steelers a 16-10 lead with 25 seconds remaining in the third quarter.
The Steelers quickly forced the Falcons into another punt on their next possession and could have put the game away. But Fields was stopped on fourth-and-inches at the Atlanta 6-yard line to turn the ball over on downs.
The drive, however, took more than 7 minutes off the clock and left the Falcons deep in their own territory.
The defense quickly forced another three-and-out, and the Falcons were forced to punt the ball back to the Steelers with just over 5 minutes remaining in the game.
The Steelers could not pick up a first down and were forced to punt. A Falcons player ran into punter Cameron Johnston, injuring him, but officials ruled that All-Pro special teams player Miles Killebrew had held the defender on the play, forcing a re-kick.
With Johnston injured, Boswell had to punt the second time, and his punt went 43 yards to the Atlanta 40. But two plays later, Jackson intercepted Cousins and returned the ball deep into Atlanta territory to ice the game.
“I can’t say enough about Bos,” said Tomlin. “Not only with the field goals, but that punt was timely.”
