Coming out of the Week One loss to the San Francisco 49ers, there’s not much to feel great about from the Pittsburgh Steelers’ perspective.
The Steelers were beat up on in all three phases of the game against the 49ers. Second-year quarterback Kenny Pickett was a mess, a rebuilt offensive line really struggled to control the line of scrimmage, and a star-studded defense had no answers for San Francisco’s offensive attack, not to mention the Steelers having significant issues on special teams in the punting game.
It wasn’t all bad though, if you can believe it.
Star pass rusher T.J. Watt looked like his usual dominant self in Week One, recording three sacks, two forced fumbles and six quarterback hits. He was unblockable against the 49ers, which is a great sign considering his struggles in 2022 after coming back from his pectoral injury.
Rookie defensive tackle Keeanu Benton was a huge positive, too. Benton was the second-highest graded rookie from Pro Football Focus coming out of Week One with an 86.1 overall in 29 snaps, and earned the “One Up” highlight for the Steelers from PFF Saturday morning.
“Yes, T.J. Watt earned an elite 94.9 pass-rushing grade, but we know what he is about. Rookie Keeanu Benton had a phenomenal debut, and with Cam Heyward injured, he will see much more playing time moving forward,” PFF’s Braxton Howard writes regarding Benton’s performance in his rookie debut.
Due to injuries to players like Heyward and second-year pro DeMarvin Leal, as well as with veteran Larry Ogunjobi banged up entering the season opener at Acrisure Stadium against the San Francisco 49ers, Benton was pushed into a larger role in Week One.
To his credit, he seized upon the opportunity and ran with it.
Benton was fantastic in his 29 snaps. His 86.1 overall grade included a strong 72.0 against the run and a surprising 82.9 as a pass rusher, winning quickly with some impressive moves in the trenches. Additionally, Benton totaled one pressure in the loss and had three tackles against the run.
He’s in for a bigger role moving forward, too, which is rather exciting for the Wisconsin product.
As for the “One Down” from PFF, it was easily Pickett and his 5.0 yards per attempt, struggling to push the ball down the field in a blowout loss to the 49ers.
“Pickett and this offense couldn’t get anything going offensively, although they were up against one of the best defenses in the league. Pickett made two turnover-worthy plays and zero big-time throws,” Howard writes.
The accuracy was a mess from Pickett in a much-hyped 2023 debut after a perfect preseason. It started slow with a big miss to Diontae Johnson on a crossing route on a key third down, and then spiraled into a bad interception, leading to more misses and overall struggles. Everything snowballed offensively for the Steelers, putting them in a massive hole that they never got out of.
Entering Week Two, the Steelers have to push the ball down the field more, and Pickett needs to be much better from an accuracy standpoint. The performance against the 49ers feels like a bit of a one-off for Pickett. Let’s see if he can bounce back.
