Steelers feast on 49ers defense
PITTSBURGH – The 49ers apparently left their game in San Francisco.
Coming off a dominating defensive performance in a Week 1 victory over Minnesota, the 49ers were expected to provide a stiff challenge to the Steelers in their home opener.
The only challenge the Steelers faced Sunday was deciding whether to kick a PAT or go for a two-point conversion.
Ben Roethlisberger threw for 369 yards and three touchdowns and DeAngelo Williams rushed for three scores in a 43-18 victory in a game that really wasn’t as close as the final score indicated.
The Steelers (1-1) ran just 52 plays, rolling up 453 yards while controlling the ball for just over 23 minutes.
“We did what we’re capable of,” said Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin of his team’s quick-strike ability. “It’s our goal to be right. We were in a lot of circumstances.”
Roethlisberger completed 21 of 27 passes and was not sacked, connecting nine times for 195 yards and a touchdown to Antonio Brown, and also throwing strikes of 48 and 41 yards to Markus Wheaton and Darrius Heyward-Bey.
“Things clicked,” said Roethlisberger. “We really did some good things, threw the ball, ran the ball and scored in the red zone.
“We didn’t possess the ball very long, but we put up the points.”
And the 49ers (1-1) just couldn’t keep up, thanks to a defense that sacked San Francisco quarterback Colin Kaepernick five times and limited the 49ers running backs to 60 yards on 23 carries. Kaepernick did throw for 335 yards and gained 51 rushing yards on eight carries, but many of the passing yards came in the fourth quarter, long after the outcome was decided.
Second-year linebacker Ryan Shazier was key to the defense, finishing with a career-high 15 tackles, three of which were for losses, a sack, a forced fumble and fumble recovery.
“I kind of knew I was going to be involved,” said Shazier. “When you play a team that likes to run the ball, linebackers are involved in the game a little more than normal.”
The Steelers took an 8-0 lead on their second possession when Roethlisberger threw a 2-yard TD pass to tight end Heath Miller then converted a 2-point conversion pass to Brown.
San Francisco then drove from its own 13 to the Pittsburgh 13. But a holding penalty and back-to-back passes that were stopped for losses by cornerback William Gay and defensive end Cam Heyward and a sack by Heyward forced a field goal that trimmed the lead to 8-3.
Roethlisberger found Brown for a 59-yard highlight-reel pass to the San Francisco 2 that set up Williams’ first score. The Steelers lined up to kick the PAT, but the 49ers jumped offside and Tomlin decided to go for two again, this time with Roethlisberger completing a pass to Miller for a 16-3 lead.
Shazier sacked Kaepernick for a 17-yard loss at the San Francisco 4 and after Brown returned the ensuing punt 16 yards to the 35, Roethlisberger threw a 35-yard TD pass to Heyward-Bey.
Despite placekicker Josh Scobee missing the 33-yard PAT, banging it off the upright, the Steelers led 22-3 and the rout was on.
Shazier recovered a fumble by running back Carlos Hyde, who entered the game leading the NFL with 168 yards rushing after Week 1, and the Steelers turned that into another TD, with Williams scoring again from the 2 to make it 29-3 at the half.
“They made big plays that we didn’t make,” said 49ers head coach Jim Tomsula, a Homestead native. “When their guy was throwing the ball to their receiver, we needed to make a play and we didn’t. They did a nice job of maxing up (protection) and getting the ball down the field.”
The 49ers put together another long drive in the third quarter, going from their 17 to the Pittsburgh 1 on 18 plays. But Kaepernick’s fourth-down pass to fullback Bruce Miller was broken up by Lawrence Timmons.
The 49ers got a pair of TD passes in the fourth quarter from Kaepernick to Anquan Boldin and Torrey Smith, but each time they scored, the Steelers answered. Williams got into the end zone for a third time and Roethlisberger hit Brown for the final score to cap a 5-for-5 day scoring in the red zone.
“Every team would want that,” said defensive end Stephon Tuitt, whose early sack set the tone for the defense. “Our offense had a great game. We played a great defense. I thought we could be able to do that. We don’t care if anybody knows who we are. Our job is to get our explosive offense the ball as much as we can because they have the ability to do that.”