Biggest Takeaways from Pittsburgh Steelers' Week 2 Win

In Week 2, the Pittsburgh Steelers managed a degree of redemption for their Week 1 loss at the hands of the New England Patriots—and no small degree, either. The Steelers played host to the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday and came away with a 43-18 win.

There was a lot of good (and some bad) to come out of the victory. Here are the five biggest takeaways from Pittsburgh's big win over the Niners in Week 2.

Steelers Defense Brings the Heat

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The Steelers defensive front managed to sack New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady only twice in Week 1, but the unit fared far better against the 49ers' Colin Kaepernick on Sunday. 

The Steelers sacked Kaepernick five times and totaled eight quarterback hits. Defensive ends Stephon Tuitt and Cameron Heyward combined for 2.5 sacks, linebackers Ryan Shazier and Bud Dupree had one apiece, and fellow linebacker Arthur Moats had a half-sack. Kaepernick also fumbled the ball twice, losing it once.

This pressure is necessary for the Steelers, whose defense has otherwise struggled to stop the pass, not just so far in 2015 but dating back to 2014. If Pittsburgh can be consistently ferocious up front when pressuring opposing passers, the entire defense will fare better this season.

Pittsburgh's Pass Coverage Still a Liability

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Despite the defensive front bringing the heat on Kaepernick on Sunday, the Niners quarterback didn't lack for success as a passer. On the day, Kaepernick completed 33 of his 46 pass attempts for 335 yards and two touchdowns. Although he was under pressure on a regular basis, it wasn't enough to force him into passing mistakes; he threw zero interceptions. 

According to Pro Football Focus, the Steelers' biggest culprits in coverage were cornerback William Gay (nine targets, six receptions, 61 yards, 33 yards after the catch), cornerback Antwon Blake (eight targets, six receptions, 54 yards), linebacker Ryan Shazier (eight targets, seven receptions, 50 yards, 11 yards after the catch) and corner Ross Cockrell (four targets, four receptions, 34 yards). Corner Brandon Boykin and safety Will Allen also gave up one touchdown pass apiece.

This is the reason why the Steelers defensive front needs to continue to perform as it did on Sunday; otherwise, passers will shred the secondary, week after week. A stout defensive front can make up for a lot of weaknesses in the secondary, which should be the Steelers' defensive approach for 2015.

There May Be No One to Stop Antonio Brown

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Antonio Brown extended his streak of at least five catches for a minimum of 50 yards in the regular season to 34 games after Sunday's performance against the Niners. In fact, in Week 2, he got to that point before halftime.

In total, Brown had nine catches on 11 targets for 195 yards and a touchdown. The performance brings his 2015 total to 18 catches on 22 targets for 328 yards and two scores. He's the best receiver in the NFL at the moment, and seemingly no defense can stop him.

Brown is the Steelers' scariest weapon, especially with Martavis Bryant suspended for two more games. Coverage shifts Brown's way no matter who else is on the field with him, but he cannot be contained. He's so fast, shifty, athletic and in tune with quarterback Ben Roethlisberger that it's almost unbelievable to watch.

Brown is perhaps the only receiver in the league where all the game-planning in the world by opposing defensive coordinators makes zero difference. He did his thing again on Sunday, and it's hard to imagine him not doing so through all 16 games in 2015.

Handling Carlos Hyde

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A major priority for Pittsburgh's defense on Sunday was to contain Niners running back Carlos Hyde, who put up 168 yards and two touchdowns on 26 carries against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 1.

And the Steelers managed to hold him in check, limiting him to 43 yards on 13 carries. And though Hyde did leave the game late and was evaluated for a concussion, there wasn't much more that he could have done to help his team at that point.

The Steelers weren't willing to concede any more yards.

Granted, they did allow 111 yards of total rushing offense to the 49ers on 31 collective run attempts. But there would have to be some allowance for quarterback Colin Kaepernick's ability to run on his own. 

After the Steelers gave up only 80 yards on 24 run attempts to the Patriots in Week 1, it's good to see this aspect of the defense can remain mostly consistent, especially against top running backs.

Ben Roethlisberger Isn't Slowing Down

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Of course, it helps when your primary receiver is Antonio Brown, but Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has picked up where he left off in 2014, and it was very much in evidence on Sunday against the 49ers.

All told, he completed 21 passes in 27 attempts for 369 yards, three touchdowns and zero interceptions. He wasn't sacked, averaged 13.7 yards per pass and ended the day with a 155.8 quarterback rating. This is the second time in two games that Roethlisberger has surpassed 300 yards and competed at least 72.3 percent of his passes so far this year.

If there was any lingering doubt that he was worth his four-year, $87.4 million offseason extension, he's extinguished it. Roethlisberger will earn every single penny that hits his bank account from the Steelers—at least $31 million in guaranteed cash.

San Francisco's defense isn't much to write home about, which means Roethlisberger took full advantage of its weaknesses. He did that and more on Sunday, which is good news. This strong offense from 2014 hasn't slowed down one bit.