There were plenty of reasons the 49ers’ Week 1 matchup vs. the Steelers could’ve been a tough one. San Francisco flexed its muscle at Acrisure Stadium and beat up Pittsburgh en route to a 30-7 shellacking in the season opener.
Getting out of the Steel City with a win was most important for the 49ers, but there were plenty of bigger-picture takeaways:
Weapons galore
The 49ers didn’t have any trouble figuring out how to get touches for all of their weapons. Brandon Aiyuk caught all eight of his targets, Deebo Samuel caught five of his seven targets, and Christian McCaffrey turned 22 carries into 152 yards. George Kittle had just three catches, but he was targeted six times. When San Francisco is spreading the wealth on offense they’re going to be extremely hard to stop.
Defense is dialed
The 49ers defense didn’t miss a beat despite DE Nick Bosa missing the entire offseason. LB Fred Warner had a sensational game with eight tackles, a tackle for loss and a pass breakup that led to an interception. Second-year DE Drake Jackson had a huge day as well with 3.0 sacks, which matches his total from all of last season. The defense as a whole racked up 5.0 sacks and two turnovers while allowing just seven points and a paltry 3.9 yards per play.
Jake Moody bounces back
Moody’s struggles were a pretty significant story line in the preseason or the 49ers, and his quad injury that had his status for the opener in doubt. The rookie third-round pick drilled all three of his field goal tries and connected on all of his extra point attempts. Having a reliable kicker has been huge for the 49ers since head coach Kyle Shanahan took over, so Moody stepping into the regular season and not having any trouble is a nice early-season sign for the 49ers.
Career day for Brandon Aiyuk
Aiyuk had the best game of his career Sunday in Pittsburgh. The 49ers’ fourth-year wide receiver hauled in all eight of his targets for a career-high 129 yards and two touchdowns. It was the fifth 100-yard game of his career, and the first time he’s posted multiple TDs in a 100-yard game. He also had a huge block that sprung RB Christian McCaffrey’s 65-yard touchdown run that helped the 49ers regain control of the game early in the second quarter.
Formula remains for 49ers
It’s a new year for the 49ers, but their winning formula remains the same. They played from ahead of the sticks, ran it more times than they threw it, and rode a stifling defense to help them salt away the game after building a big lead. This is how they’re built, and they executed perfectly in Week 1.
Nick Bosa's return
Bosa wound up playing almost every snap in the first half thanks to five consecutive three-play drives by Pittsburgh to open the game. He was credited with two tackles and one QB hit, but he generated enough pressure to affect a handful of other plays. It wasn’t peak Bosa since he didn’t play any football over the offseason, but he was good enough to help the 49ers defense Sunday.
Penalty problem
One mark against the 49ers on Sunday was their 11 penalties for 85 yards. It wound up not being too costly since they dominated from the outset. A sloppy game from that standpoint could cost them at some point though. Right guard Spencer Burford was whistled for a hold, false start and a facemask. Cornerback Deommodore Lenoir also got flagged twice on the Steelers’ touchdown drive. One was a personal foul for a late hit out of bounds. The other was an illegal contact foul on a third down in the red zone. They’ll need to be better at avoiding flags moving forward.
Injury-free
Head coach Kyle Shanahan didn’t have any injury updates after Sunday’s game. CB Ambry Thomas was evaluated for a concussion and cleared. Other than that the 49ers are healthy exiting their season opener.
