Steelers Vs. 49ers Week 1 Pregame Report: Beating Nightmare Matchups Comes Down A Critical Trio

The Pittsburgh Steelers are back in the friendly confines of Acrisure Stadium to kick off the 2023 NFL regular season. This has been a long time coming for Steelers fans, as this will be the first time since 2014 the Steelers have played host in the opening week of the season. In come the San Francisco 49ers, who will make the cross-country trek to begin their own Super Bowl campaign after losing in the 2022 NFC Championship Game to the Philadelphia Eagles. Both teams are eager to hit the ground running in the opening game, and there is a lot to look forward to on both sides to ignite the new NFL season.

Record History Between The Steelers And 49ers

Although these teams are some of the oldest in the NFL, the Steelers and 49ers have only squared off against each other 22 times. Currently, the 49ers hold the slight advantage over the Steelers with a 12-10 record going back to 1951. In their last five games, the Steelers have only won twice. However, the 49ers haven’t defeated the Steelers in Pittsburgh since the 1996 season and have never won in Heinz Field, let alone Acrisure Stadium. Meanwhile, the record is split between home team wins and away team wins with an even 11-11 record.

How To Watch The Steelers Vs. 49ers

The game will be aired on local FOX stations for the majority of the country this week. Calling the game will be Joe David and Daryl Johnston. For those who are looking for the game outside of the viewing area, the NFL Sunday Ticket is available on YouTube TV. The entire viewing map is shown below.

Referee Assignment For This Week

Officiating this week’s game will be Alex Kemp and his crew. This will be the first time Kemp will be officiating a Steelers game since 2020, when the Steelers beat the Indianapolis Colts. In Kemp’s history, the home team is 41-37, which bodes well for the Steelers. Looking at Kemp’s more detailed history, offensive holding seems to be a favorite of his. Of the 1,034 penalties called since 2017, 193 of them have been holding against the offense.

Steelers: What To Watch For

After one of the best preseason slates in recent history, the Steelers look to already be in midseason form heading into their first game. Kenny Pickett was the definition of perfection in his five series of action and the offense is primed to explode in 2023. Pickett’s connections with Diontae Johnson and George Pickens have only gotten better, and the reconstructed offensive line has galvanized nicely since training camp.

On the defensive side of the ball, there are a lot of new names and faces on all three levels. The defensive front may need to dip into the depth chart earlier than expected with Larry Ogunjobi carrying a “questionable” designation into the game with an injured foot. The Steelers are rolling out their new inside linebacker corps featuring Kwon Alexander, Elandon Roberts and Cole Holcomb, where we can expect a healthy rotation between the three veterans. 

In the secondary, fans can expect to see Patrick Peterson make his regular season debut with Keanu Neal and Damontae Kazee operating a time share at the strong safety position. On paper, the defense is going to have their hands full with the 49ers’ firepower.

49ers: What To Watch For

Unlike the Steelers, the 49ers have had their fair share of drama throughout their preseason. Reigning AP Defensive Player of the Year award winner, Nick Bosa held out of camp and each preseason game until the team’s Week 1 preparation on his way to securing a record five-year, $170 million extension. It is hard to anticipate how sitting out for all of camp will impact Bosa on the field, but Dan Moore Jr. is going to be on notice all game. In addition, veteran cornerback, Charvarius Ward is entering the game as “questionable” with a heel injury. Should he miss this week’s action, that’ll favor Pickens, as Ward typically plays on the left side of the defensive formation.

The 49ers offense is bringing their own unique scheme to Pittsburgh. Brock Purdy has secured the starting quarterback spot after rehabbing his elbow all offseason after suffering an injury in the conference championship game. With Purdy comes Christian McCaffrey, Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk. Both McCaffrey and Samuel are defensive matchup nightmares for the Steelers and Aiyuk has the speed to stretch the secondary down field. Even though he’s also carrying a “questionable” designation, tight end George Kittle is slated to start and is another difficult matchup in the passing attack for the interior of the Steelers defense.

Key Matchup to Watch

There is a plethora of intriguing matchups across the board in this game. But if we assess the Steelers’ newest group and where the 49ers are most successful is in play-action. Therefore, the matchup to watch is the Steelers linebackers against the 49ers’ play-action scheme.

San Francisco Head Coach Kyle Shanahan is one of the best offensive minds in today’s football. His scheme revolves around establishing the rushing attack early, and using that to exploit over-pursuant defenses and punishing them with passes over the top or running against the defensive zones. For the Steelers, this will test the discipline of the new inside linebacker trio. 

Not only will they need to shut down the run early, but they’ll need to maintain eye discipline and hold their zones in pass coverage. Shanahan’s game plans thrive off getting defenses out of position and using mis-matches in coverages to their advantage. This scheme-versus-personnel matchup is going to be a very interesting one to follow throughout the game.

Current Odds

Leading up to kickoff, the 49ers hold a slight 2.5-point favorite over the Steelers. This line has been hovering in the road team’s favor since the schedule was announced in the spring, and the Steelers’ impressive preseason hasn’t changed the minds of the oddsmakers. In addition, the point total is sitting at 41.5 points. Looking at the full slate of games for this week, oddsmakers anticipate this game being one of the fifth-lowest scoring games of the week.

Final Score Prediction

This may seem a bit biased, but it is difficult to bet against the Steelers in this game. Sure, the 49ers have made deep playoff runs in the last few seasons and have one of the best defensive units in the league. But from what we saw from the team throughout the preseason combined with the fact they are almost completely healthy and Purdy still has some growing to do, it is hard to not see the home team cover this week, possibly even win outright. The Steelers are 8-1 in home openers since the current stadium opened in 2001 and it just feels like the atmosphere is right for a home win. Prediction, Steelers 20, 49ers 16.

What are you watching for this week? What do you think the final outcome will be? Let us know in the comments below!

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