The Mike McCarthy era is officially upon us.

At the home opener at Acrisure Stadium, Aaron Rodgers reunited with his longtime head coach and helped deliver him his first win in black and gold. This Sunday was the highest-scoring Week 1 Sunday in NFL history since the merger, but both teams did their best to try and prevent that history from being made.

Pittsburgh and Atlanta combined for a slugfest final of 20-13, with the Steelers pulling it off in the end for just their second home opener win in the last six years. Here’s whose stock up and down after the win:

Stock Up: TJ Watt

It’s no secret that last year was a down year for Watt. Yes, the collapsed lung gave him a pass for December, but he didn’t quite look like himself before that injury either. As he progressed into his 30s, fear started to settle in that perhaps Watt couldn’t quite live up to the record-breaking deal he had signed and still had two years left on.

Well, he killed that narrative today. Sunday’s performance was vintage Watt, with a pair of sacks and a pick six that ultimately sealed the game for the Steelers. He was the game-breaker of old and was an instant star in new defensive coordinator Patrick Graham’s system.

If this is a glimpse into what 2026 Watt will look like, dare I say he’s in the running for another Defensive Player of the Year?

Stock Down: Joey Porter Jr.

The Steelers returned many of their stars from last year’s defense, but one notable exception (at least so far) was Porter Jr. The standout corner has spent the offseason embroiled in a contract dispute with the Steelers, and the saga entered a new chapter Sunday as the team’s season started and Porter’s did not.

Both sides have a valid reasoning: Porter watched a ton of his defensive buddies get paid, and wants his, but the Steelers don’t want to pay him top corner money for a player who isn’t a top corner (yet). And perhaps we should give Porter the benefit of the doubt; he was on the injury report with a back issue.

If Porter is willing to sit out games, he’s certainly playing a risky game. The Steelers still emply the antiquated rule of not negotiating in season, and despite the legacy of his father and Porter’s personal success, he will lose a sizable chink of the fanbase if he holds out while still on his rookie deal. We’ll see what comes of it. However, today was a PR hit for him, regardless.

Stock Up: Michael Pittman Jr.

Sunday was the first real chance to watch this new-look offense, one that will rely more on the pass under McCarthy. Pittsburgh’s receiver corps deploys an interesting mix of transplanted veterans and unproven, homegrown talent.

One of those incoming veterans certainly stood out. Pittman led a spread out receiver group with 58 yards on three catches. He was the only wide receiver to catch all of his targets, giving Rodgers a reliable option in the passing game.

I think he is going to fit in well with this offense, and I am really excited to see more of him as this season gets underway.

Stock Down: DK Metcalf

It was not a pretty day for Metcalf, who led the Steelers with 10 targets but only brought in four passes for 40 yards. Sure, a few of his targets were impeded by penalties, but Metcalf gave them right back with two offensive pass interference penalties (even though one was declined).

Rodgers clearly likes throwing to Metcalf, and he is still a focal point of this offense. He led the Steelers in targets (99) and receiving yards (850) last year, and is expected to rank at or near the top of those categories again. It’s far, far too early to write him off after one game, but man did he have a rough start to the year.

You have to hope he settles more into the McCarthy system ahead of Week 2.

Stock Up: Jaquan Brisker

One of the new faces on the defense, Brisker made an instant name for himself in Pittsburgh with a Week 1 pick against Atlanta’s Cooper Rush.

It wasn’t just Brisker making a nice play to read the pass and take the ball, it was when in the game he was at the right place at the right time. Atlanta had scored a touchdown off a turnover on their last possession, and even though the Steelers responded with a field goal, the Falcons were up 7-6 early in the second quarter.

If the Falcons put together another solid, point-scoring drive there, I think the environment inside Acrisure Stadium gets a lot more tense. Instead, Brisker makes the play, and the great field position as a result aids the first touchdown of the season for the Steelers, giving them a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.

Stock Down: Offense’s Killer Instinct

I highlighted Pittman earlier, but this was overall a really sluggish game for the offense. The Steelers won 20-13, but only 13 of those points came from the offense. Atlanta has playmakers, but they also had some injuries. I thought the play calling on offense got better as the game went along, but the Steelers will need more out of that side of the ball in the weeks to come.

The McCarthy era is here, but that in many ways felt like the type of game we have watched for years: the offense did just enough to get by, while the defense stood tall and was forced to defend several “last stand” drives by the Falcons.

The offense couldn’t shut this game down. They kept the Falcons in it for far too long, and they’ll have to work to get far more cohesive in the weeks to come.