PITTSBURGH — Mike McCarthy strolled through the Pittsburgh Steelers’ locker room on Sunday, with a smile stretched across his face and a ball tucked under his arm.
At 62 years old, he’s at a reflective stage in his life. Sometimes at practice, McCarthy finds himself looking across the river to the neighborhood where he was raised. When he drives the streets of Greenfield, memories flood back. He remembers his late brother, Joe. He remembers long summer days shooting hoops on the basketball courts at Magee Field. He remembers Sundays spent cleaning his dad’s bar before watching the Steelers build a dynasty under legendary coach Chuck Noll.
Now, McCarthy has one more keepsake in the collection. As the Steelers gathered following their 20-13 win over the Atlanta Falcons, Aaron Rodgers presented the first-year coach with the game ball.
“Obviously a special moment,” McCarthy said. “Really appreciate the guys. Appreciate Aaron and the kind words. It’s time to move on and to get team victories from here on. I’m not one for attention. So the homecoming’s been great. Just glad to get this one under our belt.”
McCarthy’s passion and connection to Pittsburgh is evident in what he says — and in how he says it, with a thick accent that’s sometimes hard for Rodgers to decipher in the headset. McCarthy started training camp by educating players on the history of the steel industry and explaining how the best Steelers teams are a reflection of the city’s identity. Inside the team facility, the Steelers have painted “Pittsburgh Is Our World” in massive block letters. McCarthy renamed his competition period the “Franco Moment,” a tribute to the late Franco Harris. Players received shirts this week that read: “The mill never closes.”
“Mike’s had a lot of wins,” Rodgers said. “But it’s always special when it’s the first one at a place. Then, extra special when it’s the team you grew up cheering for. And you grew up just on the other side of the river from the facility,” Rodgers said. “His parents are still living in town. So super special to be able to (give him the game ball). I was really honestly looking forward to that today as much as anything.”
A homecoming is only as happy as the result. The outcome checked an important box, even if it didn’t come with many style points.
An early Jaylen Warren fumble gifted the Falcons points. An aborted field goal attempt likely took some off the board for the Steelers. A pass-happy Pittsburgh offense was full of stops and starts. All this contributed to the Steelers letting third-string quarterback Cooper Rush and the Falcons hang around into the fourth quarter.
That’s when T.J. Watt took over. On the bench, Rodgers and backup quarterback Mason Rudolph were talking about the standout game the outside linebacker was having. As they looked up, Watt disengaged from the offensive tackle and snatched Rush’s pass out of the air. Watt tumbled to the turf, but realizing he was untouched, he jumped to his feet and raced 35 yards to extend the lead to 20-13.
“I think it was (Keeanu Benton) that was like, ‘Get up! Get up!'” Watt said. “I had no idea where I was. I had no bearing at all. I’m sure the fall didn’t look too graceful, but glad someone told me to get up and keep running.”
Within the game, the Steelers showed some subtle ways the new coaching staff will take a different approach. A team that played man coverage at some of the highest rates in the league under Mike Tomlin shifted overwhelmingly to zone coverages. An offense that appeared reluctant to attack downfield in the past tried to hunt more deep shots, with mixed results.
However, the win still felt like so many others in recent Steelers memory, as they leaned on the defense to be the difference. Pittsburgh native Jaquan Brisker’s interception set up the lone offensive touchdown, four sacks set the tone and the timely splash play from Watt clinched it.
“We’re about defense first,” McCarthy said. “We made that clear when we started this journey. I think it was clearly evident why today.”
Meanwhile, as the game unfolded, the ongoing uncertainty surrounding Joey Porter Jr. simmered below the surface. The cornerback sat out the duration of training camp and preseason with what the team is calling a back injury, returning to practice only on Sept. 1. After a week of limited work, Porter was ruled inactive. McCarthy said Porter is still in the “ramp-up” stage.
At the same time, it’s impossible to ignore that Porter and Pittsburgh failed to reach an agreement on a contract extension ahead of the team’s self-imposed deadline. Porter has been noncommittal when asked over the past two weeks whether he’d be willing to play without a new contract.
“We sat down and talked about it, talked about the plan for next week,” McCarthy said. “He’s definitely ready to do more, so we’ll see how that goes.”
Ironically, if there’s any player who understands the Steelers’ history as much as McCarthy, it’s Porter. He was raised inside the locker room, when his father, Joey Porter Sr., was etching his place in team lore. There’s a famous photo of Porter in his father’s arms after Super Bowl XL. As part of recent stadium renovations, the team painted a massive mural at Acrisure Stadium across from the locker room with team greats, including Joey Porter Sr.
If a back injury is indeed what’s keeping Porter from the playing field, how much more “ramp-up” could he possibly need? But if the contract has more to do with his absence than the Steelers are letting on? Well, it’s fair to wonder how this might end. The team has a long-standing policy that it doesn’t negotiate deals in-season. Could the Steelers be open to trading him now that the deadline has passed?
“I wish it would’ve gotten done, not my decision, but I still think he’s going to be a Pittsburgh Steeler in the future,” Cameron Heyward said. “I just want to support Joey the best way I can, and hopefully he comes back to us whenever he’s ready and we’ll go from there.”
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.