The Pittsburgh Steelers really let themselves down in any number of ways in Sunday’s season-opening 30-7 loss to the San Francisco 49ers. Perhaps most frustrating performance-wise was the 188 rushing yards allowed on 34 carries after finishing the 2022 season with a much-improved, top-10 rushing defense.
Still, it’s worth noting how just one minor difference here or there could change the story dramatically. Like CB Levi Wallace taking a more decisive approach in his attempt to tackle RB Christian McCaffrey on first-and-10 from the 49ers’ 35-yard line at the start of the second half. That was when he busted out a 65-yard touchdown run on what should have been no more than a four-yard gain.
“I didn’t even think he saw me”, the veteran cornerback said of the play, via Mike Prisuta for Steelers.com. “He got hit by somebody else and then spun around. I thought I had a clear shot at him. It just kinda happened like that, it’s football. But good move by him, he’s a good back”.
There was a little too much complimenting for the 49ers after the game for my taste, frankly, with players not making the plays they should have made. Like CB Patrick Peterson praising QB Brock Purdy and WR Brandon Aiyuk for making plays after he essentially promised he would get an interception.
Still, make that 65-yard touchdown run a four-yard gain and who knows what story we would be looking at. Yes, it was still 20-7 at the time, but the Steelers had just finally gotten off the mat to end the first half with a nice-looking touchdown drive. That two-play touchdown drive to begin the third quarter gutted any hopes of a comeback, which were genuine.
If you actually look at how the rest of that half played out for the defense, San Francisco only got within the Steelers’ 45-yard line once after that outside of a drive that began at the 38. And the defense forced a fumble on the next play. Only one more drive gained 30 or more yards and that still resulted in a punt.
Maybe, just maybe, if Wallace makes that tackle and sets up second-and-6 instead of a kickoff with the Steelers down 20 again, things go a different way. This is not meant to be just about Wallace and his tackling, but to make the point about how easily, at least potentially, things could have gone another way.
As for what actually happened on the play, it worked off the back of C Jake Brendel, who first worked a double-team on Montravius Adams before moving to the second level to get a piece of Kwon Alexander cutting inside. That left Brendel’s back to the outside edge, which McCaffrey played off of. Cutting inside Adams, he bumped off the rear end of his center before spinning outside, with Wallace flailing in the wrong direction.
DeMarvin Leal was also getting driven into Brendel and Alexander by RT Colton McKivitz, further forcing the run outside. Perhaps if the line-assisted redirection didn’t take place, Wallace would have taken a more appropriate open-field angle.
