The 49ers opened the 2023 season with a nice 30-7 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers, as Brock Purdy was on his A game all day, ending the game 19/29 for 220 passing yards, and 2 passing touchdowns, both to Brandon Aiyuk, who had 8 catches for 129 yards.
Christian McCaffrey wasn’t that bad either, as he broke a 65-yard touchdown run in the 3rd quarter to give the 49ers a 27-7 lead, he ended with 151 rush yards on 22 carries, along with17 receiving yards, on 3 catches, while Deebo Samuel had 5 catches for 55 yards.
George Kittle had a nice conversion on 4th down that led to the first Aiyuk TD, he also had 3 catches for 19 yards.
On defense, Drake Jackson was all over the field, with 3 sacks, while the 49ers defense picked off Kenny Pickett twice, 1 for Charvarius Ward, and 1 for Talanoa Hufanga, the first which led to a field goal for Jake Moody.
Ward ended the game with 3 total tackles, and Hufanga ended with 4 total tackles.
Fred Warner was all over the field, ending the game with 8 total tackles, while his running mate Dre Greenlaw had 6 total tackles.
Deommodore Lenoir led the way with 10 total tackles, while defensive back mates Isaiah Oliver had 5 total tackles, and Ambry Thomas had 5 total tackles.
The 49ers defense had 8 tackles for loss, 1 each for Warner, Greenlaw, Hufanga, Kerry Hyder Jr., Javon Hargrave, and Clelin Ferrell, while Jackson had 2.
Nick Bosa and Arik Armstead had what should have been sacks, if not for blatant holding on the Steelers.
Bosa ended up with 33 snaps, 2 tackles, while the 49ers big free agent signee Javon Hargrave ended with 3 tackles, and a sack.
On special teams Moody went 3/3 on field goals, and 3/3 on extra points, while Ray-Rau McCloud III had 41 punt return yards, including a nice 19-yard return.
Overall the 49ers dominated this game from the first play to the last play, moving to 1-0, and next up for the 49ers is a trip to Los Angeles, to face the Rams at SoFi Stadium, where we all know 49ers fan travel to make it a red-out.
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