Steelers Get Served Humble Pie In Week One Beatdown
Steelers fans across the nation sat and watched the sorry excuse of a football game on Sunday that saw the Steelers get dominated from the opening kickoff to the final whistle. It wasn’t fun, but it’s a good lesson for everyone donning the black and gold. A big slice of humble pie isn’t always the meal you want, but it’s the meal you need sometimes.
No Bright Side To Week One
The Steelers were bad on every front on Sunday. The offense looked like the same old Matt Canada disaster class. The same pass concept over and over and over again. Especially against a team like the 49ers who are so sound defensively, and maybe the best team defense in the league, up there with the Cowboys at least. The Steelers defense appeared to never get out of bed on Sunday, except for TJ Watt of course who registered three sacks, two forced fumbles, a fumble recovery, five solo tackles, five quarterback hits, and a pass defended. Watt had himself a day. Only problem? Nobody was there to help him.
The Steelers made Brandon Aiyuk look like prime Jerry Rice as he hauled in two touchdowns on Patrick Peterson’s head. Things slightly started to look up for the Steelers when they scored to make it 20-7 going into the half, but Christian McCaffrey had other plans when he took a 65-yard run to the endzone to open the second half and officially put the nail in the coffin as if it wasn’t planted at kickoff. The 49ers just had their way with the Steelers. Anything they wanted, they got it. They shredded the Pittsburgh offensive line and had Pickett seeing ghosts out there. Not ideal for your second-year quarterback, in any facet.
Insult To Injury For Steelers
It’s the worst part of football. Injuries can derail a whole season as we saw last year when TJ Watt went down in week one. This year the Steelers peeled out of week one with multiple injuries. Cam Heyward, the heart of the Steelers defense will miss at least eight weeks after groin surgery. It was a brutal blow to a defense that already looked so lost on Sunday. Steelers fans immediately took to the app formerly known as Twitter to call JJ Watt out of retirement. Come play with your brother, JJ. You know you want to.
Diontae Johnson will be sidelined for a couple of weeks with a hamstring injury he sustained on his way to what would’ve been a big game. Johnson made three catches for 48 yards, and Kenny Pickett missed him a few times on throws that found the grass.
Right Tackle Chuks Okorafor who was the Steelers highest-rated offensive lineman in week one and Right Tackle James Daniels also got injured on Sunday, raising some serious questions about how the line will trot out there in week two. If neither guy can go one has to imagine that gives Broderick Jones the chance to start at left guard and Dan Moore slides over to right tackle. Who fills in for Daniels? It could be one of Nate Herbig and/or rookie Spencer Anderson.
Other injuries include Demarvin Leal, Miles Boykin, and tight end Pat Freiermuth who always seems to get banged up. It’s just part of football, but all these injuries make the loss that much worse.
Flushing It And Moving On
Week one was an unfortunate two-and-a-half hour for Steelers fans everywhere, but they can’t dwell on it. A Cleveland Browns team that won the crappy battle of Ohio last week comes to town in a pivotal week two matchup with the Steelers. We know how AFC North games go around here. Buckle up Steelers fans, it’s time to see what the boys can do in the face of adversity after losing some key guys in week one. It’s next man up in Mike Tomlin’s locker room.
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