The Pittsburgh Steelers did not start their 2023 season on the right foot, getting embarrassed by the San Francisco 49ers at home in a 30-7 loss in Week 1.

Quarterback Kenny Pickett was swarmed all day long by a tenacious 49ers front and did not play well when he was given time to make a throw. Despite the lackluster performance, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin has faith that what goes around will come around for Pickett. He was asked why he remained confident in his second-year quarterback.

“His commitment,” Tomlin said, via Joe Rutter. “There's football justice. When you work at it, there generally are good things that come out of it.”

Pickett finished the game Sunday with 232 passing yards and one touchdown, tossing two interceptions as well. He was sacked five times and had a 68.4 passer rating for the game.

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The Steelers were on the back foot from the jump, with the 49ers racing out to a 20-point lead midway through the second quarter. Pittsburgh did not get a first down until their fifth offensive drive which came after the two-minute warning in the second quarter.

Pickett and the Steelers offense are expected to improve this season after finishing with a bottom-10 scoring and total offense in 2022. Pickett also had a fantastic preseason, adding to the hype of Pittsburgh's rejuvenated offense.

It hasn’t happened through one game of the new season, but the Steelers won't blow things up after one bad game. Mike Tomlin sees a winner in Kenny Pickett, and there aren’t many coaches better at winning than Tomlin.