NE Atlanta News

ATLANTA — The highlight of the Atlanta Falcons' season opener came in the form of a 6-foot, 288-pound team captain named Grady Jarrett.

The veteran defensive tackle made his official return Sunday from a torn ACL sustained in Week 8 of the 2023 season. It had been 10 months and 10 days since Jarrett last took a live snap. That didn't stop him from suiting up and playing well inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium in the team's first game.

"I knew I was back when I woke up this morning," Jarrett said. "I put a lot of work in. Zero doubt in my mind that I was ready to go. I'm just excited to have a great year, continue to contribute to this team the most I can and happy to be back on the field."

The outcome wasn't ideal, as the Falcons lost 18-10 to the Pittsburgh Steelers. But the Falcons defense did its job for the most part, keeping the end zone clear of anyone in yellow and black. All the Steelers' points came via field goals.

The Steelers ultimately totaled 270 offensive yards, split up by 133 passing and 137 rushing.

Justin Fields started at quarterback for Pittsburgh instead of Russell Wilson, who was inactive due to a calf injury. Fields completed 17 of his 23 passes for 156 yards. His longest completion was a 40-yarder to wide receiver George Pickens.

Running back Najee Harris led the Steelers' ground work with 20 carries for 70 yards, with a 20-yard run serving as his longest of the day.

"A lot of room for improvement," Jarrett said. "But with it being Week 1, I'm also proud of the effort and the adjustments that we made throughout the games, how guys communicated together and stayed together."

Jarrett had 1.5 sacks in his return. He took down Fields for a loss of 15 yards on a third-and-4 play in the third quarter that forced the Steelers to punt. Jarrett later partnered up with outside linebacker Matthew Judon for another takedown, this time for a loss of eight yards on a third-and-13 play in the fourth quarter that also forced the Steelers to punt.

Unlike Jarrett, who has been with the Falcons since they drafted him in 2015, Judon is new to Atlanta. The 32-year-old Judon only has one fewer season under his belt than Jarrett, though he has enough experience to understand the importance of Jarrett being healthy again.

"It was good, man," Judon said. "It was Grady's first game back, my first game back. It's a lot of emotions, a lot of energy, and it's just the first one. Just having somebody like him and being able to talk real football — be like this is how they're blocking me so this is what we're going to do — is really nice and really comfortable."

Both were starters; Jarrett finished with three tackles while Judon had five.

In addition to his sack, Jarrett had three quarterback hits. That puts him at 117 in his career, which is a Falcons' all-time record surpassing defensive end John Abraham.

"Oh really?" Jarrett said upon learning about his record-breaking performance. "That's awesome. I wish more of them QB hits were sacks... But that means a lot. I take pride in that and just continue to raise that number up."

One thing that could have made Sunday even sweeter for Jarrett was a win; however, he's optimistic about 2024 not just about himself or defense but about team as whole.

"You're watching him bounce back with excellence which you expect," Falcons head coach Raheem Morris said." That's something you always enjoy... Being able see mother family out there today always something you're going look back smile no matter what outcome because guy human."