That was a statement game if I’ve ever seen one. The San Francisco 49ers made sure the NFL world knew they were true Super Bowl contenders as they humiliated the Pittsburgh Steelers 30-7!
Well, I guess we all know that the preseason is utterly useless when predicting regular season games.
With many doubters and haters harboring on all week about the impending collapse of the San Francisco’s Super Bowl window, the 49ers silenced them in style as they DESTROYED the Pittsburgh Steelers 30-7 at Heinz Field to crank open that SB window for another season. And, it was an utter route from the start.
Okay, for anyone who thought that the preseason dominating Pittsburgh Steelers were going to take the NFL world by storm and mount a dark horse challenge for the AFC North title and perhaps a sneaky Super Bowl run, that idea was completely shot down and stomped on by the 49ers.
This game was never close and turned into a blowout very early on as the 49ers offense and defense was firing on all cylinders with Brock Purdy coming back from his UCL tear and posting a very impressive 19/29, 220 yards, 2 TDs, 0 INTs stat line that helped the Niners go up 20-7 at halftime.
Of course, the 49ers running game spearheaded by Christian McCaffrey (22 CAR, 152 yards, 1 TD) had a monster day of 188 rushing yards and 5.5 yards/attempt, but Purdy’s poise and precision in the pocket is what allowed the 49ers running attack to get in behind the Steelers defense and make them look like children.
You would never have known that Purdy was coming off an injury that used to end pitcher’s throwing careers in the MLB as he was able to dish the ball out to Brandon Aiyuk (8 REC, 129 yards, 1 TD), Deebo Samuel (5 REC, 55 yards), and George Kittle (3 REC, 19 yards) with really no difficulties.
And remember, this mostly came in the first half as the 49ers offense only had to hold onto the lead and beat down any Steelers’ attempt at a comeback, which didn’t happen in the slightest due to the 49ers defense.
Led by Deommodore Lenoir (1o tackles), Fred Warner (8tackles, 1 TFL, 1 PD), Dre Greenlaw (6 tackles, 1 TFL), Talanoa Hufanga (5 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 PD, 1 INT), Drake Jackson (3 tackles, 3 sacks, 2 TFL, 3 QB hits), Nick Bosa (2 tackles, 1 QB hit), and Charvarius Ward (3 tackles, 1 PD, 1 INT), the 49ers defense completely curb stomped the Steelers offense as they racked up 59 tackles, 5 sacks, 8 TFLs, 4 PD, 9 QB hits, and two interceptions (with a near Pick-6 return).
Warner and Greenlaw were especially monumental in defense as they were not only tasked with stopping the Steelers running game (which they did and them some with the Steelers only picking up 41 total yards), but they also were charged with watching the middle of the field for slant routes by the Steelers shifty WR core.
And, seeing how the 49ers defense came out of today with 2 picks, 4 PD, Warner nearly had two picks of his own, not a single Steelers receiver had over 65 yards (Allen Robinson came closest with 5 REC for 63 yards), and the Steelers only scored seven lonely points in front of Heinz Field’s boisterous and rabid Steelers faithful, I’d say they did their job pretty well.
I mean, the Steelers offense literally only had 1 total yard of offense before they scored their first, last, and only TD with under 30 seconds left in the 1st half…to bring the score down to 20-7.
Kenny Pickett had a really poor game with just 31/46 passes completed, 232 yards, 1 TD, 2 INTs, and overseeing and offense that had just 3.9 yards/play, while the young Steelers receivers George Pickens (5 REC, 36 yards), Diontae Johnson (3 REC, 48 yards), and Calvin Austin III (6 REC, 37 yards) all had poor outings with Johnson picking up a hamstring injury that ruled him out a large swab of the game.
Along with Najee Harris having just 6 CAR for 31 yards, the Steelers offense had one of the worst performances I’ve seen from a Pittsburgh team in a long time.
Truthfully, the only good thing about this Steelers team was their defense as even though they gave up 30 points (which is never great), they still managed to get 73 tackles, 3 sacks, 5 TFL, 5 PD, 7 QB hits, 2 FF, and a FR.
Well, it was mainly just T.J. Watt being a wrecking ball with his 5 tackles, 3 sacks, 1 TFL, 1 PD, 5 QB hits, 1 FF, and 1 FR that gave the 49ers massive issues, but the Steelers defense as a whole played pretty well when you consider their offense constantly posted 3-and-outs for the opening 29 minutes of the game, and then 3-and-outs for the final 30 minutes.
Nevertheless, this result really shouldn’t be too detrimental for the Steelers as it brings them back down to the reality THEY’RE NOT dark horse Super Bowl contender and ARE just a retooling Wild Card side.
Reversely, this win should silence all critics and doubters of the 49ers not being Super Bowl contenders or Brock Purdy not being healthy enough as a starter for a SB contender as both questions have been answered with resounding YES!
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