On Saturday night, all across Pittsburgh, fans sat in their beds, too anxious to sleep. There was too much to be excited for.
The Steelers were on tomorrow, and after a preseason that saw Kenny Pickett and the offense play literally perfect football, how could one possibly sleep?
Fans dreamed of a revamped offense and stabilized defense taking down the titans that were the San Francisco 49ers, a team who had been to the promiseland of an NFC Championship Game.
But Steelers fans woke up in a nightmare on Sunday, when they watched their beloved team collapse in a way no one in the entire football world could have possibly predicted.
The game literally could not have gotten off to a worse start: a 3 and out for Pittsburgh, and San Francisco scores a touchdown.
But it’s ok, it’s ok. There’s plenty of time to bounce back and get on the board, all we need is a second drive to get…
The defense bends, but doesn’t break (not yet anyways) and San Francisco takes a very early 10-0 lead. But it’s quite clear that the Steelers defense is going to have a very hard time stopping anyone on this 49ers offense.
The offense continues to look like a bunch of strangers who are suddenly on a football field together. Kenny Pickett looks absolutely awful, and the Steelers cannot, for the life of them, get a first down.
Every pass Pickett tries is just…off. I don’t at all know what was wrong with Pickett, but something wasn’t right at all. But we’ll come back to that later.
San Francisco does whatever they want against an anemic Steelers defense and jumps out to a commanding 20-0 lead, and the game looks over. But the Steelers, because they’re the Steelers, have to tease you with some hope.
One of the absolute worst halves of football I’ve ever seen gets bailed out (somewhat) by a 90+ yard, two-minute drill style of offense, ending with a Pickett touchdown pass to Pat Freiermuth.
All of the sudden, the crowd has life.
By the way, the first first down on this drive was the first first down of the entire game for the Steelers.
That touchdown drive was huge for Pittsburgh, a real momentum shift in the game. Instead of going into the half down 20-0, it’s only 20-7. That drive also included some gutsy fourth down efforts that helped bring the team 7 points instead of 3.
If you can stop the 49ers (who get the ball first coming out of the break), you’re right back in the game…
Well, it was fun to believe for 10 minutes.
That electrifying touchdown run was the crusher for this Steelers team. If they get a stop there, maybe it’s a closer game, and the Steelers can maintain momentum. But now, down 20 once again, it’s over.
The second half quickly just becomes Act 2 of the horror show we saw in the opening half: the 49ers impose their will, and the Steelers have no response.
The Steelers chunk plays are far too few and in between, and those kind of go by the wayside after Diontae Johnson goes down with a hamstring injury after a good catch and run.
For all the build up this Steelers team had coming into 2023, by both local and national media, the let down was incredible.
The hype train didn’t just lose stream, it flew off the rails and crashed into a ditch.
By the fourth quarter, chants of “Let’s Go Niners” rained down from the crowd, which had a surprisingly high amount of red and white present today. Empty yellow seats littered the stands, an evident sign of just how bad the Steelers performed today.
Pickett got pummeled several times today, and the last drive was almost comical on how many times he was sacked.
So what are we supposed to take away from this game? Was this a game where the 49ers just dominated the Steelers? Or did Pittsburgh just completely implode?
There’s certainly a case for both points to be made, and I’ll let you decide which one is more true.
More thoughts down below:
-We have this conversation way too often, the one about the Steelers offense only looking good when they are in hurry up. Is that yet another indictment of Matt Canada’s offense? Or just some insane coincidence? Imagine a Steelers offense that always played the way they do in two-minute drills.
-This offensive line isn’t there (yet). The new and improved Pickett fence gave way far too often to allow the 49ers to get to Pickett. Kenny was sacked 5 times today, and constantly under pressure. Obviously, Nick Bosa and the gang over in San Francisco are gonna be a tough matchup, but they were the clear winners in today’s trench wars.
-The run game was subpar today as well, another sign of an underperforming offensive line. Both Harris and Warren never were able to really get anything going.
-Pickett’s decision making and overall judgement went out the window today. Too many times he threw passes behind the receivers, or to no one at all. He also threw several passes directly into coverage, that’s how he got picked off twice.
-This is one bad game for the former Pitt QB. It’s not a referendum on his role as the starter, or his ability to play at an elite level. But this game does raise a lot of questions, many of which will be justified.
-The Steelers lost Diontae Johnson, Cameron Heyward, and DeMarvin Leal all in this game. They cannot afford to have all three of those players out with injury in Week 2.
–Odd stat of the game: Kenny Pickett had more passing yards, with 232, than Brock Purdy’s 220.
(Featured photo by Joe Sargent/Getty Images)
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