The Steelers' preseason and offseason honeymoon that sprouted boundless optimism into the regular season came to a screeching halt on all three phases in a matter of minutes.
In Sunday's season opener at Acrisure Stadium, it was a beatdown of the Steelers' rebuilt offensive line, a picking-apart of a defense consistently on its heels, and days from Brandon Aiyuk and Christian McCaffrey which all contributed to a 49ers victory, 30-7, over the Steelers.
"Disappointing day for us," Mike Tomlin said. "Not how we wanted to perform. While, at the same time, you've got to compliment those guys because it unfolded in the manner in which they desired for it to. Oftentimes in games like this the team that wins, the game unfolds more to their personality than the opponent. And, no question, the game unfolded in the manner in which we talked about, the style and the way they like to play."
Up until their final drive of the first half, which started with 1:35 remaining, the Steelers had mustered one futile yard of total offense. They got to that one yard by virtue of a three-yard Jaylen Warren run with 8:16 left in the second quarter. By that point, the 49ers had racked up a 20-0 lead thanks to two touchdown grabs from Aiyuk -- one wide open as Patrick Peterson slipped in the end one and one as he fought the ball away from Peterson -- and a pair of Jake Moody field goals.
Kenny Pickett's perfect preseason -- one in which he led the Steelers to five touchdown drives in five chances -- is officially washed away by the clunky performance showcased on Sunday. It's completely feasible to argue this was the worst showing of his career to date. He completed 31 of 46 passes for 232 yards, one TD and two interceptions and was sacked five times. He didn't reach the 100-yard mark until the 4:48 mark of the third quarter.
"We just didn't execute, honestly," Pickett said. "I think it was more us than them. I felt comfortable with what I was seeing, what they were doing, but we just didn't execute when we needed to. ... I think San Fran's starting defense is a little bit better than some of the teams in the preseason that we played. They're a good team. But at the end of the day we didn't execute anywhere near the level that we need to, that we want to, so we have to get a lot better."
T.J. Watt achieved a piece of history in the third quarter, as his strip sack of Purdy gave him 80.5 sacks in his career, which tied James Harrison's franchise record. Otherwise, though, it was all about Aiyuk's eight catches, 129 yards and two touchdowns, McCaffrey's 22 carries for 151 yards, and the latter's 65-yard touchdown run at the beginning of the second half, which set the table for 391 yards from the 49ers' offense.
If not for a 12-play, 95-yard drive to conclude the first half with a 3-yard touchdown pass from Pickett to Pat Freiermuth, the Steelers' offense would have been at a total loss on Sunday. Perhaps in belief of symbolism, the first drive of the game ended with Pickett being sacked for a loss of 10, and the 49ers immediately followed by embarking on a seven-play, 54-yard touchdown drive capped by Aiyuk's first touchdown reception from Brock Purdy. Pickett then came back and, on third down, looked for Diontae Johnson, who slipped as he planted for a comeback route and allowed for Charvarius Ward to haul in interception. That led to a Moody 41-yard field goal.
"It was a failure on our part in all areas," Tomlin said. "... We got kicked in the teeth today in a lot of ways."
The Steelers' drive chart in the first half read as follows: Three and out, interception, three and out, three and out, three and out, touchdown. They did not achieve their first first down until Najee Harris' 24-yard run with 1:24 left in the half.
That was the Steelers' longest drive of the game. The second-longest was the 48-yard drive at the end of the game that ended with an interception by Talanoa Hufanga.
And, if insult wasn't enough, the Steelers did not come out of it clean with respect to injuries. Cam Heyward and Johnson missed the second half with groin and hamstring injuries, respectively, DeMarvin Leal sustained an elbow injury and Freiermuth sustained a chest injury, and Chukwuka Okorafor "probably" entered the concussion protocol after the game, per Tomlin, after being injured on the Steelers' final possession of the game.
Much more to come in the Steelers feed from Acrisure Stadium.
