Putting Steelers Week 1 Loss in Perspective

Deep sigh…

After a great deal of optimism in the preseason, which now feels a bit silly, the current feeling among Steelers fans is that all hopes of playoffs or another winning season are dashed. 

Not a surprising reaction to the effort that was put on display this Sunday. From start to finish the 49ers dominated the Steelers, on both sides of the ball and in special teams. What was supposed to be a top defense in this league was gashed in the run game, and Brandon Aiyuk seemingly was unguardable. 

Offensively, the revamped offensive line didn’t look much different than what we have seen in the last two. Limited running lanes, on the rare times they ran the ball, and gave up 5 sacks. What’s more, Kenny Pickett looked like an unsteady, young QB. While his first interception could arguably be the result of a falling Diontae Johnson, the second was a head scratching throw. He seemed unsettled in the pocket and questionable throws all over the field. 

However, along with a deep sigh, a deep breath should follow. I am not going to argue that this game will motivate the Steelers or will light a fire under them because that fire should always be lit for great teams. What I am going to say is that Week 1 is far from defining what this team is going to be the rest of the season.

While silver linings don’t make the playoffs, there are some positives we can take away from this game. One being very obvious…TJ Watt. Some others are that when given time Kenny did lead a touchdown drive and he certainly didn’t look broken Sunday, just unsettled. It is important to remember while Kenny did look good at the end of last year and in the preseason, this was just his 13th start in the NFL. It isn’t unreasonable to see him struggle. 

We also have no idea what Najee Harris or Jaylen Warren can bring to the offense. For some inexplicable reason there were only 9 rushing attempts and 41 rushing yards. Even at 10-0 or 17-0 abandoning the run does not help your 2nd year QB who is clearly struggling. The Steelers gave the 49ers their excellent front a chance to do nothing more than pin their ears back and make Kenny uncomfortable. 

Incorporating screens and run plays (not jet sweeps Matt) have been the recipe for winning for this team for several years now. While the league is shifting to a pass heavy game, the best teams establish a run game and use play action in the pass game. The 49ers are a perfect example actually. They gave a steady run game, and that allowed them to have success in the passing game. 

Whether it be the fault of Matt Canada or Kenny Pickett, everything in the passing game was trying to be down the field, and there weren’t a lot of chances for him to make the easy throws. 

While there are a number of areas the Steelers need improving, week 1 is not the final day on what this team will be.  At the end of the year the 49ers will be deep in the playoffs and probably will be playing for the Super Bowl. 

The Steelers played a team that picked right up where they left off to end last year, and the notoriously slow to start Steelers are still trying to establish an identity as a young team.

That identity needs to be running the football and playing defense, but that will come. Teams rarely establish their identity week 1. Hats off to San Francisco for doing that.

In essence, Week 1 is a dress rehearsal. A number of teams are terribly disappointed with their first week of the season. The Bengals and the highest paid player in the NFL Joe Burrow scored 3 points and couldn’t muster 100+ yards passing. 

The Chiefs lost to the Lions, the Giants and their playoff hopes gave up 40 and scored 0, the Vikings lost to Baker Mayfield, the Seahawks were trounced by the Rams with someone named Puca being their best WR. 

Take a breath. Yes, the Steelers played badly, yes Kenny looked terrible, yes this is frustrating, and they have a lot to work on. But Week 1 is not a foreshadowing of what is to come or a doomsday for Kenny’s future as a QB.