Falcons have no excuse not to shutdown Steelers passing attack in week 1

The Steelers should know exactly what to expect from their offense in 2024; all they have to do is look at the 2023 Falcons. The two offenses are nearly identical. Both have/had Arthur Smith calling plays, similar wide receivers, and two good running backs.

Unfortunately, that means the Steelers are going to struggle mightily through the air. With the Falcons hosting them on Sunday, there is absolutely zero excuse not to shut their passing game down.

Falcons will shutdown the Steelers' familiar passing offense

The 2023 Atlanta Falcons didn't have the talent at wide receiver they needed. Past Drake London, they relied on Mack Hollins, Scotty Miller, KhaDarel Hodge, and eventually Van Jefferson. As we all know, it went terribly.

Well, Mike Tomlin's Steelers should be preparing for the same. When you look at their depth chart at wide receiver, it is downright awful.

1. George Pickens
2. Van Jefferson
3. Calvin Austin III
4. Scotty Miller
5. Roman Wilson

George Pickens is the only player that you have to gameplan for. For some reason, Arthur Smith thought bringing back Van Jefferson and Scotty Miller was enough. This begs the question, isn't the definition of 'crazy' doing the same thing over and over expecting different results?

If the former Falcons head coach thinks his passing attack will be average (at the very least) then he is in for another rude awakening.

Now that Brandon Aiyuk is off the trade market, there is nowhere the Steelers can go to significantly bolster the position.

Comparing the two wide receiver corps, the 2023 Falcons hold the advantage. Steelers and Georgia fans can call me crazy but Drake London is more talented than George Pickens, Calvin Austin is a fine player but plays the rarely-used slot position in Smith's offense, Roman Wilson is a wait-and-see rookie, and, of course, we know what Van Jefferson and Scotty Miller are (more so, what they aren't).

If the Atlanta Falcons don't hold the Steelers under 220 passing yards on Sunday, then the defense is in trouble. All they need to do is play physical with Pickens, get him frustrated, stop the run game, and watch the Russell Wilson-led offense implode.