The debut of quarterback Kirk Cousins with the new-look Atlanta Falcons did not go the way they had hoped. The Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Falcons 18-10 on Sunday in Atlanta's Week 1 home opener and made what some expected to be a high-powered offense look pretty pedestrian.

Cousins flopped in his Falcons debut, finishing with a passer rating of 59 and throwing two interceptions, including a backbreaker.

Kirk Cousins played his first game with the Falcons on Sunday after leaving the Vikings this spring to sign a four-year, $180 million deal with Atlanta. It did not go well. He threw for just 155 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions in an 18-10 home loss against the Steelers.

A promising Atlanta third-quarter drive ended abruptly when Cousins fumbled the snap and Watt fell on it. Nine plays and 24 yards later, Boswell punched in his fourth field goal of the afternoon to retake the lead, 12-10.

After a slow start, the Falcons offense kicked it to another gear as the first half came to a close. Kirk Cousins methodically picked apart the Steelers defense, aided by a key catch from Ray-Ray McCloud,

Raheem Morris' Falcons were unable to prevail against Mike Tomlin's Steelers, and Kirk Cousins faced heavy criticism following their defeat.

Steelers cornerback Donte Jackson picked Cousins off late in the fourth quarter and quarterback Justin Fields ran for a key first down just before the two-minute warning to set up Chris Boswell’s sixth field goal of the afternoon. The Falcons got the ball back with 28 seconds to play, but the Steelers hung on for an 18-10 win.

Returning from a torn Achilles, Kirk Cousins steps in for Atlanta facing high expectations and with a first-round backup. "I better play well," he says.

The Pittsburgh Steelers and the rest of the NFL are finally back as the opening weekend is underway. Pittsburgh's first challenge of the year will come against the Atlanta Falcons, as Kirk Cousins makes his debut since signing a four-year contract worth $180 million.