Coming off an opening season loss to the New England Patriots, the Pittsburgh Steelers will look to earn their first win of the season when they host the San Francisco 49ers Sunday afternoon.
San Francisco is coming off an impressive Monday night victory over the Minnesota Vikings and provided evidence, at least for one week, that they are not the pushovers many expect them to be this season. With Jim Harbaugh moving on to the University of Michigan, Pittsburgh’s own Jim Tomsula is now in charge of a team that played well despite of a number of significant losses on both sides of the ball.
Let’s take a closer look at the match up, including a detailed preview and game prediction.
When: Sunday, 1 pm
Where: Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, Pa.
Watch: FOX
Spread: Pittsburgh (-6)
Series History: San Francisco leads 11-9
Last meeting: Dec. 19, 2011 at San Francisco (SF 20 Pit 3)
Three keys to Steeler victory:
1. Take advantage of 49ers short week and cross country trip-The NFL did the 49ers no favors scheduling them to play the late Monday night game and then travel cross country on a short week to play the Steelers. This could give the Steelers a significant advantage on Sunday, especially with the game starting at 1 pm.
The Steelers must try to have a balanced attack and wear down a 49er defense that limited Adrian Peterson to 31 rushing yards and the Vikings offense to 248 total net yards. Although the Steelers have a more potent offense, the loss of Le’Veon Bell and Martavis Bryant still hurts. It will be imperative that the Steelers control the time of possession on offense.
2. Steelers defense must get on the same page-The Steelers defense looked completely lost and out of position much of the night against the Patriots. Was it first game jitters and adjustments? Maybe it was the “communication issues” at Foxboro? Whatever the excuse might be, the Steelers must get things in order against a 49’ers offense that is not New England, but is very capable of causing issues for a Steeler defense not exactly firing on all cylinders.
First and foremost, the Steeler D must contain a 49er rushing attack that netted a whopping 230 yards against the Vikings. Carlos Hyde went crazy in his debut as the feature back in San Francisco, rushing for 168 yards on 26 carries and two touchdowns. If Hyde has similar success, it will open up the passing game for the inconsistent, but incredibly talented Colin Kaepernick.
Former Baltimore Ravens receivers Anquan Boldin and Torrey Smith have had plenty of success against the Steelers in the past, and that was often when the Steelers secondary was not struggling mightily as it is now. Tight end Vernon Davis is dangerous despite of a tough 2014 campaign.
3. Pressure Kaepernick and force mistakes-For all the talent Kaepernick has, he’s been prone to poor decisions over his career. The Steelers must find ways to make life miserable for Kaepernick and not allow him to use his legs to extend drives and put the Steelers on their heels. If Kaepernick is forced to rely on downfield passing to win this game, it should favor the Steelers in spite of a secondary that has been under heavy scrutiny.
Three keys to a San Francisco victory:
1. Lean on Carlos Hyde-Hyde looks like a back who could end up being one of the best in the NFL this season and the Steelers rush defense, once considered tops in the game, has lost some of it’s invincibility recently. The 49ers will likely look to utilize Hyde and push his rushing attempts up towards 30 carries. If the Steelers can’t figure out how to limit Hyde, this will open up the play action passing game that works best for Kaepernick, and could put the Steelers in a world of trouble.
2. Make Steeler offense one dimensional, then limit damage by Ben Roethlisberger-After holding Peterson, one of the best backs in the NFL to 31 yards rushing, the challenge of thwarting the Steeler rushing attack should be less of a challenge. However, DeAngelo Williams rushed for over 100 yards in his Steeler debut, so look for the 49ers to attempt to stop the run and make Roethlisberger beat them with his arm.
Sounds crazy right? That’s until you realize that the 49ers boast a deep secondary with as many as seven players who can contribute. Couple that with some question marks beyond All-World receiver Antonio Brown and San Francisco might look to make the Steelers get pass happy, and then put pressure on Roethlisberger and a Steeler offensive line that had some struggles last Thursday.
3. Get the game to the fourth quarter-Steeler fans are already down on the Steelers and you can bet if they struggle in the home opener, risking a 0-2 start, it could get uncomfortable at Heinz Field. The 49ers on the other hand are coming in with a chip on their shoulder and nothing to lose, considering most pundits predicted them to be among the worst teams in the league this season.
If this game is close into the fourth quarter, things could get interesting. Suddenly the focus is on the Steeler defense and whether or not they can make a big stop. Or if new kicker Josh Scobee can make a pressure kick at Heinz Field after a tough debut last week. I’d worry if San Francisco keeps this one close late for sure.
Prediction: I wish I felt better about this one and making bold conclusions after one week of games is always dangerous. The biggest issue for the Steelers is containing Hyde and being more efficient on offense. This could be a close game where mistakes like a missed field goal or tackle could make all the difference. Ultimately, I think the long trip on a short week will be too much to overcome, especially in the second half–Steelers 24 49ers 20
Photo credit: Getty Images
