The 49ers (10-4) travel to Three Rivers Stadium for a 1:00 ET kickoff against the Pittsburgh Steelers (10-5). Mike Tomczak is the starter for the injured Kordell Stewart. Erric Pegram is the back. Andre Hastings and Charles Johnson are the receivers. The Steelers come off two of three wins.
The 49ers come off the 30-24 home loss to the Panthers. Steve Young is the starter; Kirby is the lead back. Owens is the WR3.[1][2]
Bill Cowher's Steelers come to Three Rivers Stadium at 10-5 with Mike Tomczak at quarterback. The veteran quarterback, in his fifteenth NFL year, has thrown for 250-plus in three of the last five. The Sunday's matchup is the kind of late-December road game where the offensive line gets the cold-weather front rotation. The 49ers' Sunday issue is the same as the back-half issue: the secondary's coverage on long-route receivers. Andre Hastings has caught 6-plus passes in three of the last four.
Week 16 has the road game at Three Rivers plus a slate where the playoff seeding is settling. The Cowboys sit at 10-4; the Packers 12-2; the Panthers 11-3. The AFC East has the Patriots at 11-4 and the Bills 9-5. The storyline is the Packers' home-field advantage. The 49ers' Sunday at Three Rivers is the only AFC-NFC road game on the slate. The Steelers-49ers Sunday is the conference's only matchup of two teams with double-digit wins on the slate.
Through fourteen games the 49ers sit at 10-4 with a plus 121 point differential. Young is on pace for 3,200 passing yards. Kirby is on pace for 720 rushing. Bryant Young has 15 sacks. The Steelers are 10-5 with Tomczak averaging 235 passing per game and Pegram 4.6 a carry. Vegas opens the 49ers as 5-point road underdogs. Watching today: Bryant Young's chase of 16 sacks.
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 10-4 | W1 |
| Jacksonville Jaguars | 7-7 | W3 |
| Houston Oilers | 7-7 | L1 |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 6-8 | W1 |
| Baltimore Ravens | 4-10 | L1 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| New England Patriots | 10-4 | W3 |
| Buffalo Bills | 9-5 | L2 |
| Indianapolis Colts | 8-6 | W2 |
| Miami Dolphins | 6-8 | L3 |
| New York Jets | 1-13 | L5 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Denver Broncos | 12-2 | L1 |
| Kansas City Chiefs | 9-5 | L1 |
| Oakland Raiders | 7-7 | W3 |
| San Diego Chargers | 7-7 | L2 |
| Seattle Seahawks | 6-8 | W1 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Carolina Panthers | 10-4 | W5 |
| San Francisco 49ers | 10-4 | L1 |
| St. Louis Rams | 4-10 | L1 |
| Atlanta Falcons | 3-11 | W1 |
| New Orleans Saints | 2-12 | L7 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Green Bay Packers | 11-3 | W3 |
| Minnesota Vikings | 8-6 | W2 |
| Chicago Bears | 6-8 | W1 |
| Detroit Lions | 5-9 | L3 |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 5-9 | W1 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Dallas Cowboys | 9-5 | W2 |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 8-6 | L1 |
| Washington Redskins | 8-6 | L3 |
| Arizona Cardinals | 6-8 | -- |
| New York Giants | 6-8 | W1 |
Steve Young threw for 253 yards and three touchdowns, Brent Jones caught 6 for 93 and the 49ers beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 25-15 at Three Rivers Stadium. Jerry Rice caught 8 for 63 with a touchdown. Terrell Owens caught 3 for 45 with a touchdown. Mike Tomczak threw for 253 with a touchdown. Erric Pegram ran for 103 on 20 carries.[1][2]
Steve Young threw three touchdowns and the 49ers won 25-15 at Three Rivers Stadium. The third-year backup Brent Jones caught six for 93. Terrell Owens caught a touchdown. Jerry Rice caught a touchdown. The Sunday at Three Rivers was the kind of cold-weather road win that, in calendar 1996, anchored the wild-card seeding.
The defensive front produced three sacks of Mike Tomczak. The Steelers' offense, with Tomczak throwing for 253 and Pegram running for 103, produced 15 points across the full sixty minutes. The defensive secondary held Andre Hastings to 63 receiving.
The 49ers walk back to the airport 11-4 with the home finale against Detroit on Sunday next. The road record is 5-2. The wire copy is going to spend the column on Bryant Young's chase. The film room is going to spend the week on the offensive line's protection in cold weather.
49ers 25, Steelers 15. Margin: plus 10. Record: 11-4.
A 25-15 road win at Three Rivers Stadium. The 49ers improve to 11-4.
How it unfolded
Young opened with a touchdown drive ending in a Rice 18-yard score. The Steelers answered with a Tomczak touchdown to Hines Ward. The second quarter produced two more 49ers scores: a Wade Richey field goal and a Young touchdown to Owens to push the lead to 17-7 at the half. The third quarter saw a Steelers field goal cut it to 17-10. A Young third touchdown made it 24-10. A Steelers fourth-quarter touchdown made the final 25-15 (with a closing 49ers safety).
The turning point
The second-quarter Young-to-Owens touchdown. With the 49ers up 10-7 and the offense facing third-and-six at the Steelers' 16, Young found the rookie wide receiver on a corner route. The 17-7 cushion put the visitors in script-the-clock posture against an offense that was about to produce 8 points across the closing two quarters.
By the numbers
Young 24-of-36 for 253 with three touchdowns and no interceptions. Brent Jones 6 catches for 93. Rice 8 catches for 63 with a touchdown. Owens 3 catches for 45 with a score. Defensively the front produced three sacks of Tomczak (Bryant Young 2, Stubblefield 1); the secondary held the Steelers' wide receivers below 70 yards each.
Personnel watch
| Player | C/A | Yds | TD | Int | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SFO | |||||
| Steve Young #8 | 24/36 | 253 | 3 | 0 | |
| PIT | |||||
| Mike Tomczak | 23/43 | 253 | 1 | 2 | |
| Player | Att | Yds | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SFO | ||||
| Steve Young #8 | 6 | 22 | 0 | 11 |
| Terry Kirby | 11 | 20 | 0 | 8 |
| William Floyd | 5 | 8 | 0 | 4 |
| Jerry Rice #80 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 3 |
| PIT | ||||
| Erric Pegram | 20 | 103 | 0 | 14 |
| Jerome Bettis | 6 | 9 | 1 | 4 |
| Mike Tomczak | 1 | 6 | 0 | 6 |
| Tim Lester | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Player | Rec | Yds | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SFO | ||||
| Brent Jones #84 | 6 | 93 | 0 | 39 |
| Jerry Rice #80 | 8 | 63 | 1 | 14 |
| Terrell Owens | 3 | 45 | 1 | 20 |
| Terry Kirby | 5 | 44 | 0 | 18 |
| William Floyd | 2 | 8 | 1 | 4 |
| PIT | ||||
| Andre Hastings | 8 | 63 | 0 | 12 |
| Charles Johnson | 4 | 57 | 0 | 19 |
| Kordell Stewart | 2 | 56 | 1 | 42 |
| Ernie Mills | 3 | 31 | 0 | 11 |
| Kirk Botkin | 2 | 26 | 0 | 17 |
| Erric Pegram | 4 | 20 | 0 | 14 |
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