The 49ers open 2023 at Acrisure Stadium for a 1:00 ET kickoff against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Brock Purdy is back from offseason elbow surgery for his first regular-season start since the NFC Championship in January. Christian McCaffrey and George Kittle are healthy.
Kenny Pickett enters his second year with a new offensive coordinator. T.J. Watt needs five sacks to break the Steelers franchise record set by James Harrison.[1][2][3]
Brock Purdy walked off the field at Lincoln Financial in January with a torn UCL and watched the Eagles bury his team's season in the NFC Championship. Eight months later, Sunday in Pittsburgh, he gets his first real snap back. The elbow is supposed to be fine. The team built around him is intact.
The Steelers are not the team they were when Tomlin had Big Ben. Kenny Pickett enters Year 2 and a new coordinator. T.J. Watt is the closest thing to a sure thing on the depth chart.
This is the kind of opener a 13-win team is supposed to handle. The 49ers walk in healthy. The Steelers are rebuilding the offense.
Opening Sunday begins the NFC West with the 49ers as the consensus pick to win the division. Around the conference the Eagles return essentially everyone from their Super Bowl roster; the Cowboys remain the team most likely to break through; the Lions are the dark horse. The 49ers' opener in Pittsburgh is the first early-season tell on whether the offseason confidence matches the regular-season product.
Through zero games the 49ers reset to last year's profile: 13-4 regular-season, +131 differential, NFC Championship Game runners-up. The defense returns Bosa (DPOY), Warner, Hargrave, and Greenlaw. McCaffrey, acquired midseason last year, gets his first full opening Sunday with the offense built around him. The Steelers are 9-8 a year ago; Pickett is 7-5 as a starter. Vegas opens the 49ers as 2.5-point road favorites.
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Buffalo Bills | 0-0 | -- |
| Miami Dolphins | 0-0 | -- |
| New England Patriots | 0-0 | -- |
| New York Jets | 0-0 | -- |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Baltimore Ravens | 0-0 | -- |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 0-0 | -- |
| Cleveland Browns | 0-0 | -- |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 0-0 | -- |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Houston Texans | 0-0 | -- |
| Indianapolis Colts | 0-0 | -- |
| Jacksonville Jaguars | 0-0 | -- |
| Tennessee Titans | 0-0 | -- |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Denver Broncos | 0-0 | -- |
| Kansas City Chiefs | 0-0 | -- |
| Las Vegas Raiders | 0-0 | -- |
| Los Angeles Chargers | 0-0 | -- |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Arizona Cardinals | 0-0 | -- |
| Los Angeles Rams | 0-0 | -- |
| Seattle Seahawks | 0-0 | -- |
| San Francisco 49ers | 0-0 | -- |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Dallas Cowboys | 0-0 | -- |
| New York Giants | 0-0 | -- |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 0-0 | -- |
| Washington Commanders | 0-0 | -- |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Chicago Bears | 0-0 | -- |
| Detroit Lions | 0-0 | -- |
| Green Bay Packers | 0-0 | -- |
| Minnesota Vikings | 0-0 | -- |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Atlanta Falcons | 0-0 | -- |
| Carolina Panthers | 0-0 | -- |
| New Orleans Saints | 0-0 | -- |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 0-0 | -- |
2023 NFL Week 1 Live Stream: Pittsburgh Steelers VS San Francisco 49ers - Exciting Game
San Francisco 49ers vs. Pittsburgh Steelers | 2023 NFL Season Week 1 | Predictions Madden NFL 24
San Francisco 49ers vs. Pittsburgh Steelers Game Highlights | NFL 2023 Week 1
San Fransisco 49ers vs Pittsburgh Steelers *MY REACTION* Full Game Highlights NFL 2023 Week 1Reveal each quarter as you watch, the next quarter stays hidden until you tap it.
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 49ers | Brandon Aiyuk 8 yard pass from Brock Purdy ( Jake Moody kick) | 7-0 |
| 49ers | Jake Moody 41 yard field goal | 10-0 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 49ers | Brandon Aiyuk 19 yard pass from Brock Purdy ( Jake Moody kick) | 17-0 |
| 49ers | Jake Moody 32 yard field goal | 20-0 |
| Steelers | Pat Freiermuth 3 yard pass from Kenny Pickett ( Chris Boswell kick) | 20-7 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 49ers | Christian McCaffrey 65 yard rush ( Jake Moody kick) | 27-7 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 49ers | Jake Moody 40 yard field goal | 30-7 |
Brock Purdy threw for 220 yards and two touchdowns to Brandon Aiyuk, Christian McCaffrey ran for 151 yards and the 49ers dominated the Pittsburgh Steelers 30-7 in the season opener. Purdy went 19-of-29 with no interceptions in his return from offseason elbow surgery. The Steelers punted or turned the ball over on each of their first five possessions as the 49ers built a 20-0 lead. T.J. Watt tied the Steelers franchise sack record with three sacks. Drake Jackson had three sacks for San Francisco.[1][2][3]
Brock Purdy spent eight months waiting for Sunday. Two touchdowns to Brandon Aiyuk, 220 yards passing, the kind of season-opener that puts to bed every offseason question about the elbow.
Christian McCaffrey ran for 151. The Steelers punted or turned the ball over on each of their first five possessions, the kind of opening pace that suggested by halftime the game would be over. By the half it was. T.J. Watt tied the Steelers franchise sack record with three sacks; his afternoon was the only Pittsburgh storyline that mattered.
The 49ers ran the same offense in Year 7 of Kyle Shanahan as they ran in Year 6, and the result was a 30-7 road win on opening Sunday. Year 7 starts the way Year 6 ended, without the elbow story.
49ers 30, Steelers 7. Margin: +23. Season opener.
A 30-7 win to open the season. The 49ers' first game with Purdy back from elbow surgery looked like the 49ers' games before the elbow surgery.
How it unfolded
The 49ers' opening drive ended on a Jake Moody field goal. McCaffrey ran in a touchdown to make it 10-0. Purdy hit Aiyuk for the first of two scores to push it to 17-0. A second Moody field goal made it 20-0. Pickett finally found Pat Freiermuth for a 3-yard touchdown to make it 20-7 in the second quarter, but the second half was the 49ers' second TD pass to Aiyuk and another field goal.
The turning point
The Steelers' first five possessions. Pittsburgh punted, fumbled, or turned the ball over on each one, the 49ers built a 20-0 cushion, and the game's competitive question was over by the middle of the second quarter.
By the numbers
Purdy 220 passing on 19-of-29 with two TDs and no INTs. McCaffrey 151 rushing on 22 carries. Aiyuk 129 receiving on 8 catches with the two scores. Drake Jackson three sacks; Bosa one. Five 49ers sacks of Pickett.
Personnel watch
Brock Purdy back from elbow surgery looked like the quarterback who finished 2022 with the offense humming. McCaffrey in his first full opening Sunday in 49ers gear. The defensive line generated five sacks. T.J. Watt the only Pittsburgh story of the day.
What it means
1-0 with the elbow story put to bed and the offense looking like the version that took the team to the NFC Championship a year ago. The Rams at SoFi next, the NFC West opener.
| Player | C/A | Yds | TD | Int | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SFO | |||||
| Brock Purdy | 19/29 | 220 | 2 | 0 | |
| PIT | |||||
| Kenny Pickett | 31/46 | 232 | 1 | 2 | |
| Player | Att | Yds | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SFO | ||||
| Christian McCaffrey | 22 | 152 | 1 | 65 |
| Brock Purdy | 3 | 20 | 0 | 17 |
| Elijah Mitchell | 5 | 10 | 0 | 4 |
| Deebo Samuel | 2 | 8 | 0 | 5 |
| Sam Darnold | 2 | -2 | 0 | -1 |
| PIT | ||||
| Najee Harris | 6 | 31 | 0 | 24 |
| Jaylen Warren | 3 | 6 | 0 | 3 |
| Kenny Pickett | 1 | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| Player | Rec | Yds | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SFO | ||||
| Brandon Aiyuk | 8 | 129 | 2 | 23 |
| Deebo Samuel | 5 | 55 | 0 | 22 |
| George Kittle | 3 | 19 | 0 | 11 |
| Christian McCaffrey | 3 | 17 | 0 | 7 |
| PIT | ||||
| Allen Robinson | 5 | 64 | 0 | 31 |
| Diontae Johnson | 3 | 48 | 0 | 26 |
| Calvin Austin III | 6 | 37 | 0 | 13 |
| George Pickens | 5 | 36 | 0 | 9 |
| Connor Heyward | 2 | 19 | 0 | 11 |
| Jaylen Warren | 5 | 12 | 0 | 9 |
| Anthony McFarland Jr. | 2 | 11 | 0 | 6 |
| Pat Freiermuth | 1 | 3 | 1 | 3 |
| Najee Harris | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
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Find the thread Start the threadCanonical title: [Rewatch Party] 2023 W1 - 49ers at Pittsburgh Steelers - Game Thread