It sure isn’t the preseason anymore. That much is obvious. Though the Pittsburgh Steelers had immense success in three exhibition games, even against the Buffalo Bills’ starters, it clearly didn’t carry over into the regular season. Pittsburgh was chewed up and spit out by the San Francisco 49ers’ defense, falling 30-7 in Sunday’s Week One opener.
Pickett had as much trouble as anyone, ending the day with 232 passing yards – much of that coming in garbage time – and one touchdown to two interceptions. Before the game was over, the offense did little, failing to even record a first down until late in the second quarter.
Speaking to reporters after the game, Pickett acknowledged the quality of the defense they were facing.
“I think San Fran’s starting defense a little bit better than some teams in the preseason we played,” he said via the team’s YouTube channel. “They’re a good team. At the end of the day, we didn’t execute anywhere near at the level that we need to, that we want to. Have to get a lot better.”
The 49ers had the NFL’s best defense last season, finishing first in points against and most rushing categories. Pittsburgh’s ground game found little traction, averaging 4.1 yards per carry, that number buoyed by a Harris 24-yard run on the team’s only scoring drive of the day.
Pickett and the passing game were no better. They got off to an ugly start, Pickett sacked on the first possession, before he threw an interception to CB Charvarius Ward on the second one. The Steelers went three-and-out on their next three drives before putting together a touchdown possession to close out the half and even then, it required a lot of work, including a 49ers’ personal foul and diving fourth down grab by RB Anthony McFarland Jr., who bailed Pickett out. Throughout the day, Pickett didn’t handle pressure well, struggled to accurately place the ball, and couldn’t push the ball downfield. He credited the 49ers for keeping a lid on things.
By game’s end, the team’s 23-point defeat was the third-worst Week One loss of the Mike Tomlin era and its worst at home (to be fair, this was their first Week One home game since 2014). San Francisco was simply the more physical team and proved it for 60 minutes.
Pickett said the performance was all the more frustrating coming off a strong preseason in which the starting offense scored on all five of its possessions.
“A hundred percent,” Pickett said when asked if this was disappointing. “No doubt about it has to be a lot better. Needs to be a lot better moving forward.”
Pickett and the Steelers must regroup for next week. They’ll host the Cleveland Browns Monday night for a pivotal Week Two matchup. The Browns are flying high after their opener, shutting down the Cincinnati Bengals’ high-flying attack in a 24-3 victory. By game’s end, Bengals’ QB Joe Burrow had been benched and finished the day completing fewer than half his passes for 82 yards and no touchdowns.
The preseason is over. The big boys have come to play. Time for the Steelers to step up. Or step out.
