Let me start with this. The season ticket holders of the Pittsburgh Steelers should be ashamed of themselves. I have never seen that stadium so dominated by an opposing fan base before. This is what WE do when we travel. You spend the money so you can do with your tickets whatever you’d like but here’s an idea; how about coming to the game?
The Steelers lost to San Francisco 30-7 in a game that I can only compare to a 1997 loss to the Dallas Cowboys in terms of the overall ass-whipping. Here are my thoughts on the game.
Offense
-Just a brutal start. The jet sweep on second down took the air out of the Steelers’ faithful and you could literally feel it.
-Kenny Pickett has to play better period. He finally put some throws together to end the half but I never dreamed he would look that bad. As inaccurate as I’ve seen him.
-The offensive line struggled. The Niners D is top notch but the OL has to be better. Pass protection and run blocking just not up to speed. Dan Moore moved over to right tackle late in the game as Broderick Jones entered at left tackle. That’s something to pay attention to moving forward.
-Kudos to Pat Freiermuth who got smacked (several times) and then bounced back to score a TD.
-Matt Canada is not THE problem for this team but he’s a major problem. The playcalling and route concepts continue to be awful.
-Diontae Johnson left with a hamstring injury while Freiermuth was banged up several times on the afternoon.
Defense
-We talked about it on the Podcast… The Steelers remain vulnerable over the middle and they needed to tackle better.
-Way too much running room from D-Line.
-Patrick Peterson should do less talking and more playing. After guaranteeing an interception of Brock Purdy he was torched by Brandon Aiyuk throughout the game.
-Great hustle by T.J. Watt to get the sack in the first half but it was the right call on the challenge by Mike Tomlin. Brock Purdy had both hands on the ball.
-The terrible tackling was accentuated with Christian McCaffery’s 75-yard TD run. Levi Wallace took a bad angle and whiffed.
-Brandon Aiyuk is a good receiver. Apparently the Steelers believed he would be the second coming of Jerry Rice. No one could cover him period.
-Congratulations to T.J. Watt who recorded three sacks on the afternoon. He is now tied for the team lead in all-time sacks with James Harrison at 80.5.
-Cam Heyward left the game and did not return with a leg injury. DeMarvin Leal had an elbow issue but did return.
Special Teams
-Anthony McFarland nearly broke a couple of kick returns.
-Chris Boswell and Pressley Harvin III both did their jobs today. Nothing more or less.
Coaching
-Total teams failures begin with the head coach and Mike Tomlin will no doubt face the music. The Niners are an excellent team but if they are that far ahead of Tomlin’s team then he should be embarrassed.
-Teryl Austin has to find some different combinations in the secondary. This isn’t going to cut it.
Up Next
The Steelers host the Cleveland Browns next Monday night.
