Team Grades: Steelers Rout 49ers, 43-18
By Christina Rivers
The Pittsburgh Steelers had been under the microscope all week leading up to their home opener against the San Francisco 49ers. With an offense that appeared ready to score at will, it was the defense that looked to have benefited the most from criticism - they shut down the Niners with a front rush that led to five sacks of quarterback Colin Kaepernick and effectively contained the opposing offense. After low grades in Week 1, the Steelers redeemed themselves on Sunday and earned high marks for their overall performance.
Offense: A
There was very little to criticize in how the Steelers offense performed on Sunday. With Ben Roethlisberger putting on a quarterback clinic, he kept the Pittsburgh offense moving down the field behind a solid offensive line that allowed zero sacks and created plenty of running room for DeAngelo Williams. Williams showed poise and exceptional overall athletic performance against a struggling San Francisco defense by rushing for 77 yards on 20 attempts for three touchdowns. His trifecta tied the Steelers' franchise record set previously by Willie Parker in rushing touchdowns in a game.
As Roethlisberger completed 21 of 27 passes for 369 yards, three touchdowns and threw zero interceptions, he earned a quarterback rating that was near perfect at 155.8 (with a perfect rating being 158.3); his main target was Antonio Brown. Brown was difficult to cover as he went after nine receptions for 195 yards and a touchdown. Brown made his 400th career reception during the game to become the fourth player in franchise history with that many catches.
Defense: A-
Expectations being low may have been the biggest motivation for Pittsburgh. As a unit, the defense was a completely different animal at Heinz Field. Second-year linebacker Ryan Shazier led the defense with 17 total tackles on the day, including one that brought Kaepernick to the turf in a sack. Shazier also recovered a San Francisco fumble.
Overall, Pittsburgh sacked Kaepernick five times with Stephon Tuitt earning 1.5 sacks and several players pushing into the offensive secondary. As Kaepernick threaded passes to receivers, defensive backs Mike Mitchell, Will Allen and Ross Cockrell played strong coverage. Antwon Blake, who was criticized for a lack of proper tackling in Week 1, looked as if he'd taken it personally by making big hits; one popped rusher Vernon Davis hard enough to dislodge the ball along the sidelines, forcing Davis and the ball out-of-bounds.
Special Teams: C
Once again, placekicker Josh Scobee disappointed fans and teammates alike. In the second quarter, the Steelers scored on a pass play from Roethlisberger to Darrius Heyward-Bey and brought Scobee in for his first PAT attempt after going for the two-point conversion and succeeding following their first two scores. Scobee pushed the ball and it went wide. The crowd in the stadium was audibly upset, filling Heinz Field with disappointing moans. Scobee did come back to kick three more successful PATs.
With only one punt return in the game and no kickoff returns, special teams' focus was on the leg of punter Jordan Berry and the coverage team. Berry booted three punts with two of them landing inside San Francisco's 20-yard line and his longest going for a staggering 62 yards. (Will) Allen was strong on the coverage team helping to limit the Niners to just 58 kickoff and 11 punt return yards (total of 69).
Coaching: A
The cries for the heads of Mike Tomlin, Keith Butler and Todd Haley may be quieted after a Week 2 performance that was so lopsided in the Steelers' favor. The coaching staff had felt the pressure and felt that corrections were made in practice leading into this week's game. One area of focus was in consistency and players owning their positions.
What went on behind closed doors in meetings and took place on the practice field may never be known, but the coaching staff called a much better game and inserted a rotation of personnel that worked well. With focus on defense being a high priority, one has to wonder if it was the coaching staff or coaching of veteran players that made a difference in putting more fire into the young players that stepped up in big ways on Sunday. Now that they have discovered what works, the Steelers would do well to keep it up.
Conclusion
Pittsburgh will play on the road in week three against a St. Louis Rams team that lost to the Washington Redskins on Sunday, 24-10. The Rams beat the Seattle Seahawks in week one, surprising some as Nick Foles and Jared Cook teamed up against the NFC Champions. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. Eastern time at Edward Jones Dome.
Christina Rivers has covered the Pittsburgh Steelers and National Football League professionally as a journalist and photographer for over a decade. Rivers studied Exercise Physiology and Sports Psychology at Brigham Young University as a student-athlete. Christina is a freelance writer covering all things NFL as well as a published author. Her work can be found on
Examiner.com.
