49ers vs. Steelers: Score, Stats & Highlights

Big Ben hopes to rebound from the opening night loss in Foxboro (Getty).

Big Ben hopes to rebound from the opening night loss in Foxboro (Getty).

FINAL SCORE

San Francisco 49ers 0-3-0-15 — 18
Pittsburgh Steelers  8-21-0-14 — 43


FINAL: Steelers Lead the Whole Way, Win 43-18

A familiar sight: Antonio Brown caught nine passes for 195 yards Sunday (Getty).

A familiar sight: Antonio Brown caught nine passes for 195 yards Sunday (Getty).

DeAngelo Williams rushed for three scores, and Antonio Brown finished with 195 yards as the Steelers trounced the 49ers in Pittsburgh, 43-18. Every time San Francisco strung some plays together, the Steelers had an answer. And even when the 49ers stalled and couldn’t score, the Steelers still answered. Roethlisberger stayed aggressive against an opportunistic Niner defense, and controlled the game from the line of scrimmage. He kept the defense on their toes, alternating between runs to Williams and the intermediate passing game. When all else failed he found Brown, who made catches all over the field and all day long.

For San Francisco, they appeared to lack explosiveness despite finishing with over 400 yards of total offense. San Francsico had long drives, and held posession for just under 14 more minutes than Pittsburgh. But the 49ers were 7-17 on third down, and an abysmal 1-5 in the redzone.

Pittsburgh (1-1) travels to St. Louis next week, while San Francisco (1-1) will visit Arizona.


Torrey Smith Made it Interesting Late

San Francisco finally got in the endzone on their next drive, but it was quickly answered by a one-yard plow from DeAngelo Williams. With almost ten minutes left, Kaepernick found a streaking Torrey Smith, who re-introduced himself to Steelers fans on his way to a 75-yard score.

Smith saw the ball again for the two-point conversion, closing the game to 18. If this isn’t the start of a Niners rally, Torrey Smith at least saved the day for struggling fantasy owners.


The 49ers Came Up Empty-Handed in the Third


After an 18 play drive, nine of which came inside the red zone, the 49ers came away with nothing after being stopped at the goal line. On their second fourth-down attempt of the drive, Kaepernick appeared to hit his tight end for the score, but Bruce Miller lost control of the ball after hitting the ground.

Even if the 49ers converted the drive, they took an awful long time to do it for a team trailing by multiple touchdowns. Now they have zero points to show, and have used too many precious minutes to do so.


HALFTIME:Steelers Look Unstoppable, Lead 29-3

steelers

Darrius-Heyward-Bey and Markus Wheaton celebrate after a touchdown (Getty).

Last week against the Vikings, the 49ers had no problem shutting down Adrian Peterson, and did a stellar job of bottling up Teddy Bridgewater.

Today against the Steelers, their defense can’t seem to do anything.

Ben Roethlisberger has two touchdowns and over 200 yards, and DeAngelo Williams has two short touchdowns on his own as the Steelers are pummeling the 49ers in Pittsburgh. After trading punts early, a strong ground game opened up the field for Big Ben and Antonio Brown. Roethilsberger found Brown often, even when he was covered, and Brown entered the locker room with five catches for 128 yards.

The 49ers gained over 100 yards in the first half, but four penalties and a fumble have cost them. The turning point in the half was when the 49ers were in the midst of a long drive deep into Steelers territory. Eventually the defense held, and a 17-play 49ers drive ended with only three points. On the following drive, the Steelers needed only seven plays to get back into the end zone.


Antonio Brown Was Unstoppable From the Start

After a 17-play drive by San Francisco only resulted in a field goal, the Steelers wasted no time getting back to work. On a third down Ben hit Antonio Brown for 12 yards despite blanket coverage, but he wasn’t finished. Three plays later, Roethlisberger hit a streaking Brown, who beat coverage then reversed field for a 59 yard gain. On the next play, DeAngelo Williams banged it home to push the lead.

On the extra point, the 49ers committed another senseless penalty. The Steelers opted to enforce the penalty for the two-point conversion, and Ben hit Heath Miller to make it 16.


Defenses Ruled Early Until Big Ben Got Going

This Post is from a suspended account. Learn more

As expected, the defenses held strong on both team’s opening drives. The Steelers had some movement, but were hindered by bad penalties. They almost turned San Fran over on a fumble, but the ball was ruled incomplete after a Tomlin challenge.

Midway through the first, Roethlisberger got going. Aided by strong running from DeAngelo Williams, Ben worked a play-fake before hitting Darrius Heyward-Bey for a 41-yard completion. Several plays later, Ben found his old pal Heath Miller for the game’s first score.

It was the first TD allowed by the 49ers this year, and Ben found Antonio Brown for the two-point conversion to extend the lead.


Preview: Steelers, 49ers Meet in Inter-conference Action

carlos hyde

One of week one’s biggest surprieses was the emergence of Carlos Hyde (Getty).

While Pittsburgh may use their spread attack to thin out the 49ers, look for both teams to establish the ground game early on Sunday. Pittsburgh surprised many with their ability to run on New England last week, and DeAngelo Williams looked healthy and will once again start. For the 49ers, Reggie Bush’s calf injury will keep him out Sunday. That shouldn’t bother fans, as Carlos Hyde took over the job last week in splendid fashion, rushing for 168 yards and two scores.

For the Steelers, the opening night game left their defense battered and bruised. Six defensive players are listed on their injury report, including linebacker Ryan Shazier. All six are listed as probable or questionable, and all six are expected to play Sunday.


Editor’s note: Heavy’s partners at DraftKings are gearing up for another football season. Sign up now with DraftKings promo code HEAVY and get a $600 deposit bonus with no season-long commitment.