While the San Francisco 49ers defense has gotten a lot of attention in the lead up to their Week One matchup with the Pittsburgh Steelers, the San Francisco offense has a lot of talented pieces. One of those pieces is RB Christian McCaffrey, who Steelers defensive coordinator Teryl Austin joked the Steelers would try and stop with 12 guys on the field.
“We’re gonna try and play 12 guys,” Austin joked via Jeff Hathhorn of 93.7 The Fan on Twitter. “He is a special talent coming out of the backfield, and what really makes him special is he can spread out and run the wide receiver stuff. So we’re just gonna try and have to make sure that when he gets the ball that he’s not getting in space by himself and we always have some type of ability to really corral him and keep his yards after catch down.”
McCaffrey was acquired by San Francisco via trade from the Carolina Panthers last season, and he immediately made an impact with 746 yards on the ground in 11 games with the 49ers. As Austin said, he’s also a serious threat as a receiver out of the backfield or split out wide, with 442 career receptions in six seasons. Last season, he had 85 receptions with 52 of those coming with the 49ers, as he racked up 741 yards through the air with five touchdowns in 2022.
He’s the most dynamic offensive piece for San Francisco, but with tight end George Kittle (if he plays) and wide receiver Deebo Samuel also in the fold, the 49ers offense is going to be a good challenge for the Steelers defense. It’s going to be interesting to see how QB Brock Purdy looks coming off elbow surgery, and Pittsburgh is going to look to get Purdy early and often to try and throw off the rhythm of the offense.
One thing they can’t do is allow McCaffrey to pick up chunk yardage as a runner or receiver, and Austin emphasized the importance of bringing him down as soon as he gets the ball. He’s incredibly dangerous in space, and Pittsburgh really needs to limit the amount of open field he has to work with. He might be the best running back in the NFL, especially when you consider the value he adds as a receiver. If the Steelers are able to reduce his impact that’ll also bring some momentum going forward.
It’s going to be a really fun matchup on Sunday between two historic franchises. But if the Steelers want to emerge victorious, they can’t let McCaffrey get going.
