National Football League

Falcons give Steelers defense plenty to work on

Published Aug. 28, 2011 5:58 p.m. ET

foxsports

James Harrison expected the Pittsburgh Steelers defense to be tested by the high-powered Atlanta Falcons.

The All-Pro linebacker also expected to get off the field.

Turns out, he was half right.

Though the Steelers rode the big plays of wide receiver Antonio Brown to a 34-16 win on Saturday night, the league's top defense a year ago had trouble keeping up with the Falcons, whose starters packed a full game's worth of work into two busy quarters.

Atlanta's Matt Ryan threw a whopping 42 passes - completing 22 of them - for 220 yards with a touchdown and an interception without getting sacked, moving the ball with ease at times against Pittsburgh's banged-up secondary.

The Falcons had 266 yards in the half, nearly matching the 276 yards the Steelers gave up in an entire game in 2010.

''I think they would have run a lot more than what they did, but if you have something that was working, and it was working for them, I don't see what you need to change it for,'' Harrison said.

Atlanta did most of its damage through the air, with Ryan expertly picking his way down the field by spreading the ball around. Roddy White, rookie Julio Jones, Harry Douglas and tight end Tony Gonzalez all finished with at least three receptions.

Jones, who caught five passes for 59 yards and narrowly missed a 49-yard touchdown, didn't anticipate seeing so much action.

''It wasn't (the game plan),'' Jones said. ''Just whatever was out there and was working, we stuck with it.''

And stuck with it and stuck with it, giving the Steelers a dose of reality after the defending AFC champions dominated Philadelphia a week ago, picking off Michael Vick three times in a half.

Though linebacker Lawrence Timmons celebrated his new six-year, $50 million contract by returning an interception 44 yards to set up a field goal, it marked one of the few successes for the starters on a night in which they struggled to keep up when the Falcons spread the field.

''They have a lot of weapons,'' Timmons said. ''I think we did okay today. I think we could have done better.''

So does coach Mike Tomlin. The Steelers failed to rattle Ryan, who twice escaped a fast-closing Harrison to run for positive yardage. Given time to throw, Ryan helped the Falcons convert 7 of 12 third downs.

''I'd like to see us get off more consistently on third down defensively, put more consistent pressure on the quarterback and have tighter coverage in the secondary,'' Tomlin said.

The Steelers played without starting cornerbacks Bryant McFadden (hamstring) and Ike Taylor (broken left thumb). The injuries thrust Keenan Lewis and William Gay into prominent roles and both had issues trying to contain Atlanta's deep and talented group of receivers. The bigger issue for Tomlin wasn't the completions as much as the sight of the Falcons running wide open down the field.

''We have to be closer and challenge more potential catches,'' Tomlin said. ''But that's just looking at it from a knee-jerk reaction.''

The Steelers are hardly panicking. Defensive end Aaron Smith pointed out the game plan remained fairly bland, the blitz packages fairly benign. Still, Harrison was less than thrilled. With two weeks to go before the season starts in Baltimore, Harrison knows the nastiness needs to return.

''They were converting third downs as if it was the thing to do,'' he said. ''We didn't play the way that we are capable of playing. And that's why we were out there so long.''

When it mattered the Steelers were able to find a way to keep Atlanta out of the end zone. Three times the Falcons moved the ball deep into Pittsburgh territory only to come away with field goals.

It was enough to win on a night that served as the closest thing to the regular season that August can muster. And a late 95-yard interception return for a touchdown by Crezdon Butler helped the Steelers win their second straight and improve their turnover ratio to plus-eight in the preseason.

''It was not a consistent, dominant performance that we were looking for or winning by attrition,'' Tomlin said. ''But we were explosive offensively. We made key plays, game changing-like plays defensively. But we will have to learn from this.''