Brock Purdy made Patrick Peterson eat his words Sunday in Pittsburgh. Purdy, an Arizona native who grew up cheering for Peterson during his years with the Cardinals, threw two first-half touchdown passes at Peterson's expense as the 49ers took a 20-0 lead en route to a 30-7 win over the Steelers, who suffered their worst home loss since dropping a 31-7 decision to the Ravens in Week 16 of the 2006 season.
Both of Purdy's touchdown passes were to wideout Brandon Aiyuk, who won the majority of his first-half matchups against Peterson, an eight-time Pro Bowler who predicted that he would get an interception in his Steelers debut. Aiyuk's first score was set up by Purdy's fourth-down completion moments earlier to tight end George Kittle, who suited up Sunday despite dealing with a groin injury.
Pittsburgh showed signs of life just before halftime when Kenny Pickett capped off a 95-yard drive with a touchdown pass to Pat Freiermuth. But the 49ers seized back momentum on Christian McCaffrey's 65-yard touchdown run 90 seconds into the second half.
The 49ers' dominant performance included a near-flawless start. San Francisco rolled up 14 first downs before the Steelers had their first with 1:31 left in the first half. At one point, the 49ers had 199 total yards to the Steelers' 1. It was an especially tough start and overall game for Pickett, whose rocky outing included a first-half interception to safety Charvarius Ward that set up a field goal.
Here's a closer look at what went down in Pittsburgh.
Why the 49ers won
San Francisco jumped all over Pittsburgh early and never allowed the Steelers to make a serious threat at getting back into the game. The 49ers dominated in the trenches on both sides of the ball while being the far more physical team.
Led by Aiyuk and McCaffrey, the 49ers' skill players made both the big plays as well as the small but meaningful ones. The defense frustrated Pickett and never let Najee Harris and the Steelers' running game get going. McCaffrey led the 49ers offense with 152 yards rushing. Drake Jackson was among the 49ers' defensive standouts with three sacks of Pickett.
The 49ers also had the better quarterback on this day in Purdy, who surely earned Peterson's respect while showing that he might be ready to take the next step as one of the NFL's top young signal-callers.
Why the Steelers lost
If dominant was the word to describe the 49ers' performance, sloppy and lethargic would be two words that could sum up Pittsburgh's afternoon. The Steelers looked out of sync on offense, while Pittsburgh's defense struggled to get the 49ers' skill players on the ground. Mike Tomlin was forced to take several bad timeouts that included one on a fourth-and-12 play with the 49ers about to attempt a field goal.
Even before the game got out of hand, the Steelers never got their ground game going. That made things even harder for Pickett, whose frustration was compounded by the fact that the Steelers lost Freiermuth and Diontae Johnson to injuries during the game. Defensive linemen Cameron Heyward and DeMarvin Leal also left the game early with injuries.
Turning point
Can a turning point really come on a team's first drive? That appeared to be the case on Sunday when Purdy hit Kittle on fourth down to keep San Francisco's opening drive alive. The conversion seemed to take the early wind out of Pittsburgh's sails while continuing the 49ers' early momentum. Instead of a momentum-changing stop, the Steelers defense gave up the first of two touchdown passes from Purdy to Aiyuk.
Play of the game
McCaffrey's touchdown run was a reinforcement of his status as arguably the game's best running back. The score included a nifty spin move against Steelers cornerback Levi Wallace, who was unable to stop McCaffrey on his way to pay dirt. McCaffrey also received some assists downfield from wideouts Aiyuk and former Steeler Ray-Ray McCloud.
Quotable
"This does not resemble a Mike Tomlin-coached team today." — Fox analyst and former Cowboys fullback Daryl Johnston, who was on the field the last time the Steelers lost a season opener at home by more than three touchdowns (a 37-7 loss to the Cowboys in 1997)
What's next
The Steelers will try to get on track next Monday night at home against the Browns, who took care of business on Sunday by beating the visiting Bengals, 24-3. The 49ers will travel to Los Angeles to face the Rams in a matchup of NFC West rivals.