If you want a statement that sums up how bad things went for the Pittsburgh Steelers Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers, read what 49ers’ left tackle Trent Williams had to say about the team’s big 30-7 win. Pittsburgh’s offense got off to a miserable start, running just 15 plays on its first five drives. Each one ended with either a three-and-out or a turnover on third down.
That kept the Steelers’ defense, and the 49ers’ offense on the field for most of the first half. It got to the point where Williams was actively hoping Pittsburgh would move the sticks just to give him and his teammates a breather.
“At one point, you just kind of wanted [the Steelers] to get a first down,” Williams said per NBC Sports via 49ers’ beat writer Eric Branch. “There were all those three-and-outs and we kind of needed a break.”
Pittsburgh’s opening drive took 1:45 and went only three plays. After a short completion to WR George Pickens on first down, a jet sweep to WR Calvin Austin III went nowhere and Kenny Pickett was sacked on third and long.
Following a 49ers touchdown, Pittsburgh again did nothing with the ball. Kenny Pickett was picked by CB Charvarius Ward on third and 5, a possession that lasted under 90 seconds. Again, San Francisco put points on the board, settling for a Jake Moody field goal.
Three plays, -3 yards, and another punt ensued for the Steelers in a drive that took 1:33. Rinse, repeat as WR Brandon Aiyuk scored his second touchdown of the day, and Pittsburgh promptly went three-and-out again on its fourth possession of the day, a drive that took up only 1:13 of game clock. After a second Moody field goal, Pittsburgh went three-and-out for the fifth straight time, gaining just four yards before punting the ball away.
All told, it wasn’t until there was 1:24 left in the half that Pittsburgh mercifully recorded its initial first down of the game, a Najee Harris 24-yard run that netted an additional 15 yards following a 49ers personal foul, their first mistake of the day. Pittsburgh would register its only scoring drive of the game, Kenny Pickett hitting TE Pat Freiermuth on a stick route for a three-yard touchdown.
Garbage time evened out the numbers, but the 49ers still finished with 22 first downs to the Steelers’ 15. The time of possession battle was even more stark. San Francisco had it for 37:23, Pittsburgh for just 22:37.
San Francisco dominated the game wire-to-wire, producing Pittsburgh’s worst Week One home loss since 1997 when the Dallas Cowboys whooped them 37-7. The Steelers will need a much hotter start Monday night against the Cleveland Browns, who dominated in similar fashion as the 49ers in their 24-3 win over the Cincinnati Bengals. While the Bengals picked up a first down on their initial drive of the game, they went three-and-out five times against in the first half of their loss.
