The Pittsburgh Steelers have designs on competing with the Cincinnati Bengals and Baltimore Ravens in the NFC North Division. Based on the way things went in the opener for head coach Mike Tomlin and his Steelers, those plans may have to be scuttled.

While it is only the first game of the season and there is plenty of time for the Steelers to turn things around, the initial showing of the 2023 regular season was brutal. The San Francisco 49ers came into Pittsburgh and handed a one-sided 30-7 beating to the home team.

Tomlin did not make any excuses for his team, nor did he make any attempt to hide his disappointment. “It was a failure on our part, in all areas,” Tomlin said.

The 49ers came out firing at the start of the first quarter, while the Steelers looked confused. Pittsburgh had demonstrated a very solid defense in the second half of the 2022 season, and many expected that unit to make a statement in the opener.

Instead the 49ers demonstrated a balanced offense that included Brock Purdy's 220 passing yard and 2 TD passes as well as Christian McCaffrey's 152 rushing yards and one TD.

Meanwhile, the Steelers offense was a major disappointment, and quarterback Kenny Pickett was unable to rally his teammates. He completed 31 of 46 passes for 232 yards with 1 TD and 2 interceptions.

Pickett had to put the ball in the air with desperation since the Steelers running game was neutralized by the Niners. Najee Harris had just 31 yards on 6 carries, and 24 of those yards came on one attempt.

Mike Tomlin was clearly upset by what he saw, but the Steelers will have a chance to demonstrate improvement in Week 2 against the Cleveland Browns.