49ers vs. Steelers: Pittsburgh Grades, Notes and Quotes

Talk about a major bounceback.

Just one week ago the Pittsburgh Steelers looked like an absolute mess, but against the San Francisco 49ers the Steelers looked like a well-oiled machine on both sides of the ball.

Offensively, the Steelers—led by star quarterback Ben Roethlisberger—rolled up 453 total yards on offense and cruised to a 43-18 victory over San Francisco to pick up their first win of the season.

Roethlisberger looked very good for much of the game, hooking up with Antonio Brown, Heath Miller and Darrius Heyward-Bey for touchdowns on the afternoon, while running back DeAngelo Williams—making his second straight start in place of the suspended Le'Veon Bell—added three rushing touchdowns to go along with 77 yards rushing on 20 carries.

Pittsburgh's first drive of the game wasn't pretty as it stalled out near midfield, but after that the Steelers scored on four straights covering 83, 80, 35 and 42 yards, respectively.

In the second half, Pittsburgh scored on two 80-yard drives in the fourth quarter to seal the win.

Roethlisberger finished 21-of-27 for 353 yards and three touchdowns. Brown increased his streak of at least five catches for 50 yards in a game to 34 games, finishing with nine catches for 195 yards and a touchdown, while Heyward-Bey added 77 yards and a touchdown on four catches.

While the Steelers offense put up yards and points in a hurry, the story of this game for Pittsburgh was the much-maligned defense's performance, namely Ryan Shazier, Lawrence Timmons, Cam Heyward and Stephon Tuitt.

Shazier was all over the field making plays, finishing with a team-high 15 total tackles, three tackles for a loss, one sack and one QB hit. Timmons added nine total tackles, while Heyward and Tuitt combined for three tackles for a loss and 2.5 sacks on the afternoon.

Early on, the Steelers defense was able to disrupt the 49ers' punishing running game by penetrating into the backfield and shutting down cutback lanes that Carlos Hyde so masterfully used last week.

Not today.

Plus, the Steelers defense did a good job of bringing down Hyde at first contact, thus not allowing him to break tackles and run for big gains after shedding tackles.

Pittsburgh did give up 409 yards of total offense to San Francisco (298 passing, 111 rushing), but a lot of that came in garbage time with the Steelers already up big.

This was a Steelers complete-team win in every facet of the game. For Pittsburgh to reach the goals that it set for itself this year, it'll have to consistently put together games like this week after week.

Position Grades for Pittsburgh

Associated Press

Position:                  Grades:

QB                               A+

RB                               B

WR                              A

TE                               B-

OL                               A+

DL                               A-

LB                               A

DB                              C+

Special Teams           D

Coaching                    A

As you can see, not a lot of negatives came out of this game for the Steelers. 

Roethlisberger, Brown and Co. were great on offense as the 49ers seemingly couldn't stop them all day long, highlighted by a masterful performance by the Steelers' offensive line, which didn't allow Roethlisberger to be hit or sacked once in the entire game.

Defensively, the front seven turned in a top-notch performance as well, highlighted by Heyward and Tuitt knifing through the Niners' offensive line repeatedly to cause disruption in the backfield. As Heyward and Tuitt led the charge up front, Shazier, Timmons and the rest of the Steelers' linebacking corps roamed sideline-to-sideline making plays all afternoon.

Rookie outside linebacker Bud Dupree added his second career sack, and veteran Arthur Moats picked up a half-sack in the blowout victory.

As far as special teams go, the Steelers were forced to punt just three times, so Jordan Berry had a relatively easy day while averaging 47.3 yards per punt. The bad news for the special teams unit was Josh Scobee's continued struggles.

The former Jacksonville Jaguars kicker missed an extra point after Pittsburgh's third touchdown, but he was able to connect on his next three extra-point tries.

Due to the struggles and lack of trust in Scobee from the previous week, Mike Tomlin and Todd Haley went for two after the first two touchdowns scored. Instead of holding a 14-3 lead, the Steelers led 16-3, which forced the 49ers to play catch-up all day long. The decision to go for two twice early in the game was a masterful decision by Tomlin and his staff.

Williams Ties Franchise's Single-Game TD Record

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Steelers PR/Media Manager Dom Rinelli noted DeAngelo Williams' record-setting performance:

"

RB DeAngelo Williams (@DeAngeloRB) ties a #Steelers single-game record w/ 3 rushing TDs - 11th occasion - 1st since 2008 (Willie Parker).

— Dom Rinelli (@drinelli) September 20, 2015"

How about DeAngelo Williams in a Steelers uniform?

The former Carolina Panthers running back has been much better than expected while filling in for Le'Veon Bell.

Three short-yardage rushing touchdowns on the day against a stout defense that held Adrian Peterson to just 31 rushing yards last week is nothing to overlook.

Every single yard of the 77 that Williams gained on the day was hard-earned.

Although Bell will return to the lineup next week against St. Louis, it's comforting knowing that if anything were to happen to Bell the rest of the season, the Steelers have a competent, talented running back behind him on the depth chart.

Dupree Matches LaMarr Woodley

Associated Press

Rinelli also highlighted Bud Dupree's record-breaking performance:

"

LB Bud Dupree (@Bud_Dupree2) is the first #Steelers rookie to record a sack in consecutive games since 2007 (LaMarr Woodley, Sept. 16-23).

— Dom Rinelli (@drinelli) September 20, 2015"

 Turns out that Dupree might be the answer at outside linebacker for the Steelers after all. 

One week after sacking New England's Tom Brady for his first career sack in the NFL, Dupree brought down the mobile Colin Kaepernick for his second career sack, marking the first time a rookie has recorded a sack in back-to-back games for the Steelers since LaMarr Woodley, who had a great run at outside linebacker for the Steelers before injuries befell him.

Dupree likely won't average one sack a game the rest of the season, but it's very promising to see him get to the quarterback with regularity early in his career. 

Roethlisberger Ties Bradshaw with Win No. 107

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Future Hall of Famer Ben Roethlisberger and Hall of Famer Terry Bradshaw share a team record as of Sunday's game, per Will Graves of the Associated Press:

"

Ben Roethlisberger tied Terry Bradshaw's team record for career wins w/No. 107 today says @drinelli

— Will Graves (@WillGravesAP) September 20, 2015"

The accolades and records just keep piling up for the future Hall of Famer wearing black and gold.

In another brilliant performance from No. 7, Roethlisberger tied another great Steelers QB with career win No. 107.

While Bradshaw clearly was never asked to do as much as Roethlisberger has had to in his career—thanks to changes in the way the game is played—but, it's still a pretty big milestone to reach in Steelers history for arguably the greatest quarterback in franchise history. 

Williams on Brown's Huge Day

Associated Press

DeAngelo Williams, no doubt, was impressed by Antonio Brown's performance (via NFL Network's Aditi Kinkhabwala): 

"

DeAngelo Williams on Antonio Brown: "He's a cheat code on the game. He's a glitch." #Steelers

— Aditi Kinkhabwala (@AKinkhabwala) September 20, 2015"

One thing is for sure: Brown continues to put up video-game numbers each and every week in the black and gold.

For the last two years or so, Brown has continued to answer every question about his game while proving doubters wrong time and time again.

San Francisco even rolled coverage toward him in Week 2, and the 49ers still couldn't stop him.

He might not have a cheat code, but nothing is stopping him from being the NFL's best receiver week after week.

Tomlin on Shazier's Big Day

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Ryan Shazier impressed Coach Tomlin (via Ken Laird of TribLive Radio):

"

Mike Tomlin on Shazier: "He's going to have an impact in whatever stadium he's in. He's that kind of player. He's sharp & gained experience"

— Ken Laird (@Ken_Laird) September 20, 2015"

Shazier had a major coming-out party against the 49ers in Week 2.

Showcasing his speed, instincts and awareness, Shazier was all over the field making plays and causing problems for Colin Kaepernick, Carlos Hyde and Co.

Reminiscent of his performance against the Buffalo Bills during his preseason debut in 2014, Shazier was locked in from the start.

It seemed like every time San Francisco ran a play, Shazier was making the stop or right there in the mix.

That's what the Steelers expected when they drafted him 15th overall in the 2014 NFL draft.

If the former Ohio State product can stay healthy all season, Steelers fans should get used to these types of performances from No. 50.