49ers vs. Steelers: Full Pittsburgh Game Preview

The Pittsburgh Steelers are one of three teams that sits at 0-1 in the AFC North after the first week of the regular season.

Now, with the San Francisco 49ers coming into Heinz Field sitting at 1-0 after a thoroughly dominating win over the Minnesota Vikings on Monday Night Football, what once appeared to be a likely win now looks to be yet another tough game on the schedule early in the season for the Steelers.

In the final week without star running back Le'Veon Bell, the Steelers offense will have to find a way to establish the running game once again, this time against a stout San Francisco defense.

Taking on that 49ers defense that held Vikings running back Adrian Peterson to just 31 yards on 10 carries in Week 1, the Steelers will face a much-tougher front seven than what they did last week against the New England Patriots when Pittsburgh—led by DeAngelo Williams—rolled up 134 rushing yards in the loss.

Defensively, the Steelers will have try to shut down the NFL's leading rusher after one week—Carlos Hyde— and the a dynamic dual-threat signal-caller in Colin Kaepernick, who looked calm, cool and collected in directing the Niners down the field early and often Monday.

Hyde, the 49ers' second-round pick in 2014, rushed for 168 yards and two touchdowns against the Vikings, providing San Francisco with all the offense they would need.

Looking to avoid an 0-2 start to the season, the Steelers will have to tighten up defensively and finish in the red zone offensively if they want to defeat the Niners in Week 2.

Location: Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, Pa.

Time: 1 p.m. EDT

TV: Fox

Week 1 Results and Recap

Associated Press

Although the final score was 28-21, the Steelers' loss to the Patriots—for all intents and purposes—should have been a win for the Black and Gold. The Steelers left at least 10 points on the board, including recently acquired kicker Josh Scobee's two missed field goals and a missed touchdown by Darrius Heyward-Bey, who wasn't able to keep his foot inbounds.

Outside of a few blunders offensively, Ben Roethlisberger and Co.'s performance was quite impressive, especially running back DeAngelo Williams, who looked explosive and nimble while rushing for 127 yards on 21 carries.

With a strong running game providing balance and drawing defenders into the box, Roethlisberger, Antonio Brown and Heath Miller were able to pick apart the Patriots secondary. Roethlisberger threw for 351 yards in the loss and added a late touchdown to Brown, but the inability to capitalize inside the red zone on a consistent basis in Thursday's game was the Steelers' downfall.

While 2-of-3 in the red zone isn't that bad, the Steelers needed to score touchdowns on all three red-zone possessions, much like the Patriots, who went 4-of-4 in the win.

Defensively, the inability to tackle the catch for minimal gain and the complete lack of awareness when it came to covering Rob Gronkowski allowed Tom Brady and the Patriots offense to march up and down the field with relative ease for much of the night.

On top of the inability to cover and tackle the Patriots receivers, the lack of a pass rush and struggle to generate turnovers, the Steelers defense looked lost much of the night in Keith Butler's first regular-season game in charge.

Luckily for the Steelers, the loss to the Patriots didn't hurt as much as it could have in the standings, with the Cleveland Browns losing to the New York Jets (31-10) and the Baltimore Ravens falling to the Denver Broncos (19-13). Cincinnati was the only AFC North team to win in Week 1 (33-13 over the Oakland Raiders).

New and Notes

USA Today

Where is Brandon Boykin?

After being acquired for a conditional draft pick from the Philadelphia Eagles midway through training camp, Brandon Boykin was expected to be used heavily in a Steelers secondary that was desperately in need of an upgrade.

Boykin, who graded out as one of the best slot corners in all of football the last two seasons, is easily the most talented cornerback on the roster. However, Boykin inexplicably didn't see the field for one defensive snap in the Steelers loss to the Patriots.

Boykin told Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that he has no idea why he didn't see the field against New England.

"

It’s the first time I can remember I never played. I’m sure they had a reason for that. I don’t know what it was. I’ll just take it in stride and go throughout the week and see what happens...Anytime you play anywhere, you want to play more, or you want to play, just get on the field in general.

That wasn’t the case last week. I don’t know why, I don’t know what the deal is or what the reason was for that. I can’t answer that. You guys have to ask coach Tomlin and the rest of the coaches about that. I know what to do, I feel comfortable. I know that if I get out there I’ll contribute and make plays.

We had a month of training camp; I’ve been practicing along with everybody else. Of course you have to continue to be learning on the fly, but as far as when we’re playing certain coverages, it’s just football, you beat your man. I know that I can contribute and play, so we’ll see what happens in the future.

"

When asked if Boykin would be in the game plan this week against the 49ers, head coach Mike Tomlin said that the third-year corner would be "under strong consideration," according to Bouchette.

For the Steelers' sake, Boykin should get an opportunity to play over a guy like Antwon Blake, who was abysmal against the Patriots.

Snap count on the rise for Harrison? 

Prior to the start of the regular season, outside linebackers coach Joey Porter said that the 37-year-old Harrison would be "on a snap count" throughout the season with the number of snaps around 25 or so a game.

Against the Patriots last Thursday, Harrison led all four outside linebackers with 38 snaps—well above the predetermined target of 25 snaps a game.

Rookie Bud Dupree finished with 26 snaps and third-year linebacker Jarvis Jones played 24 snaps.

While the idea of the snap count on Harrison is to keep the aging veteran fresh throughout the season, the inexperience of Dupree and the general inefficiency of Jones throughout his entire career has caused the Steelers coaching staff to rely on Harrison more than expected.

Despite the increased snap count, Harrison seems fine with the added responsibility—especially when it comes to keeping everyone fresh, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Ed Bouchette:

"

I believe that’s what they’re going to do, keep everybody fresh. It’s a lot easier and it’s a lot more effective when you have a guy in there who can go 100 miles per hour. And when he gets in a range when he’s going 90, high 80s, he comes out and you have another guy who can go 100 miles per hour.

"

To keep everyone fresh against the 49ers, Harrison's snap count should drop Sunday, considering who San Francisco deploys under center. There is no reason for Harrison to be chasing around Kaepernick for more than 30 snaps. That's where Jones and Dupree will have to step in while trying to contain the dynamic Kaepernick and keep him in the pocket.

Latest Injury News

Getty Images

Outside of a few bumps and bruises, the Steelers appear fully healthy heading into Sunday's showdown with the 49ers.

According to Steelers.com, linebacker Ryan Shazier (knee) and cornerback Cortez Allen (knee) did not participate in Wednesday's practice, although neither is expected to miss Sunday's game.

Cornerback Brandon Boykin (groin) was limited in practice, while safety Will Allen (concussion), quarterback Landry Jones (concussion), safety Mike Mitchell (hip) and linebacker Sean Spence (hamstring) returned to practice as full participants.

On the 49ers side, running back Reggie Bush—who left Monday's game against the Vikings with a calf injury. Bush did not participate in Wednesday's practice because of his calf injury and is listed as questionable heading into Sunday's game.

Key Matchups

Getty Images

While Sunday's game will come down to more than just a few key matchups, there are two that really stand out right away that could go a long way toward determining Sunday's outcome.

Steelers offensive line vs. San Francisco's front seven

When rewatching Monday's 49ers-Vikings game on NFL Game Pass, it was astonishing how disruptive the 49ers were through blitzes and stunts up front. Due to the heavy pressure the front seven applied, Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater and running back Adrian Peterson had rough days.

Outside of some poor play-calling, the Vikings' offensive line was outnumbered early and often against the 49ers' blitz, which happened to target center Joe Berger and guards Brandon Fusco and Mike Harris.

With star center Maurkice Pouncey still out for the foreseeable future, backup center Cody Wallace will have to improve quickly if the Steelers want to withstand the 49ers' barrage of blitzes and stunts.

Kelvin Beachum, Ramon Foster, David Decastro and Marcus Gilbert will have to pick up the slack left behind due to Pouncey's absence.

If head coach Jim Tomsula and Co. want to attack the Steelers' offensive line at its weakest point, the 49ers will blitz the A-gaps early and often in attempts to disrupt Wallace as much as possible.

Steelers defensive line vs. 49ers offensive line

Carlos Hyde had tons of success running the ball against the Vikings, who have a much-better defense than the Steelers do right now. The 49ers' success came mostly on stretch runs in which the offensive line picked a zone and picked up the nearest man, allowing Hyde to be patient and wait for running lanes to open up. Those lanes opened up quite often, as Hyde rushed for 168 yards and two touchdowns while gaining more than 6.5 yards per carry. 

Against the Patriots, the Steelers' defensive line was very disruptive against the run, especially Stephon Tuitt and Steve McLendon. By penetrating into the backfield against the Patriots, the Steelers' defensive line was able to shut down the Patriots running game, holding New England to 3.3 yards per carry. 

For the Steelers to come out on top against San Francisco, Pittsburgh's defensive line will have to disrupt the 49ers' zone-blocking scheme, forcing Hyde to work for his yards through contact. 

If the Steelers' defensive line struggles against San Francisco's zone-blocking scheme, it could spell the end early for Pittsburgh, especially if Hyde gets rolling downhill.

Matchup X-Factor

Getty Images

Steelers Matchup X-Factor:  Cody Wallace

With no Maurkice Pouncey for the foreseeable future, Cody Wallace will have to play much better than he did Week 1 against New England. He was easily the worst Steelers offensive lineman in the loss, in which the Patriots got to Ben Roethlisberger twice.

Calling the shots in the middle of the line, Wallace will have to be able to decipher where the 49ers will blitz from.

Against the Vikings, San Francisco did a great job of disguising where their blitzes were coming from, which allowed defenders to come in untouched against Bridgewater. Against Minnesota, the 49ers got home to Bridgewater five times while forcing countless other rushed throws.

For the Steelers to have their best shot at beating San Francisco, Wallace will have to be on top of his game in calling out blitzes and communicating with the rest of the offensive line to make sure Roethlisberger has ample time to find his weapons.

Prediction: Steelers 31, 49ers 23

Getty Images

Defensively, the Steelers will be much better this week against a team that likes to run the ball and doesn't air it out as much as the Patriots did last week.

Despite having some matchup advantages on the outside in Anquan Boldin, Torrey Smith, Vernon Davis and Bruce Ellington, the Niners will rely on Carlos Hyde early and often, much like they did in their Week 1 win over Minnesota.

Because of the 49ers' reliance on their ground game, that will play into the strength of the Steelers defense, which boasts an athletic front seven that can fly to the ball and stop the run.

Without having to worry about playing catch-up for much of the game, the Steelers can go back to their ball-control offense that keeps their struggling defense off the field.

Roethlisberger will be able to pick apart a 49ers defense that struggled to defend the pass last season. Add in the dynamic Antonio Brown running free through the Niners secondary and the Steelers should be able establish dominance early.

Now, if they could just finish with consistency in the red zone this week...