Pittsburgh Steelers QB Kenny Pickett is ready to take the training wheels off as he enters his second season in the NFL.

Rookie quarterback Desmond Ridder threw a 21-yard touchdown pass to Jared Bernhardt with 1:30 left to give the Atlanta Falcons a 27-23 win over the Detroit Lions on Friday.

The New Orleans Saints just missed making the playoffs on Sunday, despite beating the Atlanta Falcons 30-20.

Matt Ryan threw for 190 yards and a touchdown, Mykal Walker returned an interception of Cam Newton 66 yards for a touchdown and the Atlanta Falcons continued to play well on the road with a 29-21 win over the Carolina Panthers on Sunday.

Mac Jones threw a 19-yard scoring pass to Nelson Agholor for the game’s only offensive touchdown and the New England defense took care of the rest.

(AP Photo/Susan Walsh)The Cleveland Browns are short-handed as they try to clinch the franchise’s first playoff berth since 2002, the longest active drought in the NFL. They learned Sunday morning they will be without starting rookie left tackle Jedrick Wills against the New York Jets because of an illness. The Browns will be missing receivers Rashard Higgins, Donovan Peoples-Jones and KhaDarel Hodge and linebacker Jacob Phillips. The Indianapolis Colts will be without both starting offensive tackles when they face the Pittsburgh Steelers. This comes after they placed LB Whitney Mercilus on the COVID list on Christmas.

(AP Photo/Aaron Doster)Dallas running back Ezekiel Elliott is inactive against San Francisco with a calf injury the two-time rushing championship has been battling for several weeks. Safety Deon Bush (foot) is also out after being listed questionable with Johnson. Cowboys: RB Ezekiel Elliott, QB Ben DiNucci, WR Malik Turner, CB Rashard Robinson, DE Bradlee Anae, LB Luke Gifford, DE Ron’Dell Carter. ___JACKSONVILLE AT BALTIMOREJaguars: CB Sidney Jones, CB Luq Barcoo, LB Quincy Williams, DT Daniel Ross, QB Jake Luton. Ravens: DE Calais Campbell, CB Jimmy Smith, CB Marcus Peters, RB Mark Ingram, LB Kristian Welch, DE Jihad Ward, C Trystan Colon-Castillo.

(AP Photo/Aaron Doster)The New York Giants will be without starting quarterback Daniel Jones for Sunday’s game against the Seattle Seahawks. Jones was not expected to play because of a hamstring injury suffered last week against Cincinnati. Colt McCoy will make his first start of the season at QB for the Giants. Seattle was without both starting right tackle Brandon Shell (ankle) and backup Cedric Ogbuehi (calf) leaving a major question on the offensive line. ___CLEVELAND-TENNESSEEBrowns: WR Taywan Taylor, WR KhaDarel Hodge, CB Denzel Ward, RB Dontrell Hilliard, S Tedric Thompson, DE Joe Jackson.

(AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)The Green Bay Packers are without their leading rusher for Sunday's game at Houston after Aaron Jones was ruled out with a calf injury. Cam Erving is back at left tackle with Connor Williams at left guard. Washington will be without left tackle Geron Christian because of a knee injury, so journeyman Cornelius Lucas starts in that spot. ___GREEN BAY AT HOUSTONPackers: QB Jordan Love, CB Kevin King, S Darnell Savage, RB Tyler Ervin, RB Aaron Jones, T David Bakhtiari, DL Tyler Lancaster. Texans: WR Keke Coutee, CB John Reid, LB Peter Kalambayi, T Charlie Heck, TE Jordan Akins.

The undefeated Titans are healing up from the NFL’s first COVID-19 outbreak. DeCastro will miss his third game of the season after sustaining an abdominal injury last week against Philadelphia. Johnson, Pittsburgh’s second-leading receiver, is out because of a back injury suffered on a punt return last week. Cincinnati also will be missing starting defensive tackle D.J. Eagles: RT Lane Johnson, WR DeSean Jackson, WR Alshon Jeffery, CB Avonte Maddox, S Marcus Epps, LB Duke Riley, QB Nate Sudfeld.

Kenny Pickett #8 of the Pittsburgh Panthers hands off to Qadree Ollison #30 of the Pittsburgh Panthers against the Penn State Nittany Lions on September 8, 2018 at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. - the third straight game dating to last season the offense has been held under 275 yards. Ohio scored on all seven of its drives with Rourke under center and went a perfect 5-for-5 in red zone opportunities. Rourke has been responsible for 80 touchdowns in his Ohio career, needing three more to break the record set by Tyler Tettleton from 2009-13. PREDICTION: Ohio 28, Pittsburgh 24More college football scoresCopyright 2019 by WDIV ClickOnDetroit - All rights reserved.

However, a stern test right of the gate awaits in the opener Saturday when Virginia visits defending division champ Pittsburgh. LINE: Virginia -2.5"We've still got to go out there in our first game and play, and we've got to go every game after that and just keep playing," Perkins told the media. Prior to divisions, Virginia was the media's choice to win the league title in 1990 - finishing tied for second. The Cavaliers finish 12th in FBS in team passing efficiency defense (107.63), 16th in passing yards allowed per game (183) and 20th in total yards (330.5). PREDICTION: Virginia 24, Pittsburgh 16More college football scoresCopyright 2019 by WDIV ClickOnDetroit - All rights reserved.