Pittsburgh Steelers Head Coach, Mike Tomlin was visibly frustrated during his post-game press conference after his team was embarrassed, 30-7, by the San Francisco 49ers in the 2023 Week 1 home opener. The offense looked completely out of sync and included not converting a third down in the first half and managing only 239 total yards for the game. Tomlin repeatedly stressed that the offense needed to be better at possessing the football.
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Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin roams the grounds and talks with his players at St. Vincent College during the 2022 training camp in Latrobe, PA.
The team finished 5/15 on third down, and 1/3 on fourth. The one fourth-down conversion by Kenny Pickett on a very low throw to running back Anthony McFarland Jr. did lead to a touchdown from Pickett to Pat Freiermuth. Tomlin gave credit to the 49ers for their ability to convert on possession downs and stressed he needs to see improvement from the offense in that area.
"We didn't win enough possession downs to be competitive," he said, discouraged by his team's efforts. "You can't start 0 for 5 on third down and think that you're going to have the type of day that you desire. You've got to win the weighty downs."
On the first drive of the game, the Steelers offense sputtered out quickly after Pickett made a throw to George Pickens on first down. On second down, the team tried to run Calvin Austin III on a jet sweep that was quickly swallowed up for a one-yard loss. On the next play, Pickett avoided the initial pressure by sidestepping a potential sack, but couldn't find anything downfield and walked himself into 49ers defensive end, Drake Jackson for a 10-yard loss.
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Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett faced heavy pressure all game during the team's home opener against the San Francisco 49ers.
Tomlin said that all of the issues on offense boil down to the failure to convert on those third-down opportunities. He added that the start of the game for the offense was not good.
The team followed up that horrendous first drive with more of the same. First, Pickett underthrew receiver Diontae Johnson and had the ball intercepted by 49ers cornerback Charvarius Ward. The team followed it up by going three and out three times while accumulating negative yardage.
Perhaps the worst of it was a drive after the 49ers took a 17-0 lead. Pickett completed a dump-off pass to running back Jaylen Warren that was stopped five yards behind the line. The young quarterback missed a throw to Allen Robinson on second down and then a false start penalty on guard Isaac Seumalo.
Steelers' Pickett Struggles As The Offense Sputters
The Steelers' first-team offense, and in particular, Pickett, were darlings of the preseason with five possessions resulting in five scores. The vaunted 49ers defense with the return of AP 2022 Defensive Player of the Year, Nick Bosa quickly sent them crashing back to reality.
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Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett getting slammed to the ground on a play against the Baltimore Ravens.
After looking sharp down the stretch in 2022 as Pittsburgh rattled off a 7-2 record after the bye week with Pickett minimizing turnovers and the team running the ball, the young quarterback looked off during the home opener. He had some poor decision-making that led to two interceptions on the day. He was sacked five times which resulted in losing 34 yards.
The blame isn't squarely on his shoulders for the team's failure to possess the ball on Sunday afternoon, but he deserves a fair share of it. He was forced out of the pocket on numerous occasions, but despite avoiding the pressure, had some glaring missed throws.
Pickett and the rest of the offense will have plenty of tape to review after their poor showing against the 49ers and will need a better effort, particularly on converting third downs, if they're going to be anywhere close to the playoff picture. As Tomlin said in his press conference, the team will go back to the drawing board after they were thoroughly outclassed by one of the top teams in the NFC last year.
How do you think the Steelers' offense moves forward after their pathetic showing against the 49ers? What changes would you make going into a Week 2 matchup with the Cleveland Browns? Comment below!
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