Sloppy 49ers find way past Roethlisberger-less Steelers in home opener
SANTA CLARA >> Four turnovers on their first five series was a horrendous way for the 49ers to launch their home opener Sunday.
Surrendering a fourth-quarter lead and then committing a fifth turnover had the 49ers all set to blow their undefeated start to the season.
Then came a 5-yard touchdown pass from Jimmy Garoppolo to unlikely hero Dante Pettis with 1:15 remaining, followed by more dominance from the 49ers must-see defensive line, and, voila, they escaped with a 24-20 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The 49ers are 3-0 for the first time since 1998. Garoppolo is 4-0 as a Levi’s Stadium starter. The bye week is next, and the 49ers are back on the NFL map.
“It’s a good start. There’s a lot of football left,” Garoppolo said. “Three wins is not going to get you anything in this league. Going into the bye, we’ll assess ourselves and see what we can do better. Obviously five turnovers, so there’s a lot of room for improvement.”
They are the first victors to overcome five turnovers since the 2015 Denver Broncos, who went on to win the Super Bowl at Levi’s Stadium.
Much of Sunday’s comeback credit should go to the 49ers defense and an increasingly inspiring pass rush. DeForest Buckner, Dee Ford, Nick Bosa and Arik Armstead consistently harrased Steelers first-time starting quarterback Mason Rudolph (in for injured Ben Roethlisberger). Of Rudolph’s 174 passing yards, 115 came on his two touchdown throws.
That pass-rushing quartet got to Rudolph for a last-minute third-down sack, ending with Buckner forcing a fumble. Once Rudolph’s ensuing fourthdown throw fell incomplete, the 49ers sideleine celebrated arguably the most important win in Levi’s Stadium’s six-year history.
“Those guys we have up front, they’re some dogs,” Garoppolo said. “They get after the quarterback. They make it hard for him back there. When we got the lead, we felt pretty good about it.”
Here are the 49ers’ studs and duds thus far:
Studs
FULLBACK KYLE JUSZCZYK >> He’s was the 49ers’ best receiver and best lead blocker. If he was not opening up an alley for the 49ers rushers and especially Jeff Wilson (two touchdown runs), Juszczyk was coming through as a receiver (three catches, 51 yards). He made a diving, 27-yard reception at the Steelers 28-yard line, preventing an interception in a turnover-filled drama. DEFENSIVE TACKLE DEFOREST BUCKNER >> He and his defensive cohorts were the equalizers, heroically coming through after many a turnover by the 49ers offense. Buckner, in turn, forced that last-series fumble and he earlier recovered a fumble at the 24-yard line with 5:29 remaining, offsetting Richie James’ fumble three snaps earlier at the 7-yard line. Buckner had a team-high eight tackles, including a couple on Rudolph on third-down scrambles.
WIDE RECEIVER DANTE PETTIS >> He emerged from the summer-long doghouse (and zero targets last game) to not only start, to not only be on the field in clutch time, to not only get thrown the ball with the game on the line, but to make a contested catch for the winning touchdown.
“There’s obviously been a lot of ups and downs. I know that’s part of sports. I’ve been around professional sports my whole life. I know what happens,” Pettis said. “You’re not just going to be good every single day.
“Just being able to fight through that, now I know what it’s like to go through that, it’s like, ‘OK, I can really do this thing. I’m here for a reason.’”
RUNNING BACK JEFF WILSON >> He ran for two touchdown for the second straight game since his practice-squad promotion. The 49ers have themselves a short-yardage, red-zone and goal-line specialist — and he’s the only running back who didn’t produce a turnover Sunday. “It’s a big role and that’s why you don’t take it lightly,” Wilson said. “Kudos to my O-line and a wonderful, Pro Bowl fullback.” QUARTERBACK JIMMY GAROPPOLO >> He morphed from a three-turnover dud into a second-half comeback
stud. While engineering a touchdown drive to retake the lead late in the third quarter, Garoppolo showed a willingness to set up in the pocket and simply await a crushing hit before unloading on-target passes.
“He hung in there, took some big hits and made some good throws,” coach Kyle Shanahan said. “When we gave him time, he didn’t miss much. … Sometimes the more Jimmy gets hit, the better he does.”
As for the turnovers, the first interception came off a Matt Breida bobble, the second on a pass Pettis couldn’t snag, and the fumble on a botched snap at the Steelers 7. “Some were unfortunate, some were bad decisions,” Garoppolo said. TIGHT END GEORGE KITTLE >> Five of his team-high six receptions came before halftime, including a tough, 11yard catch over the middle at the Steelers 11-yard line when his legs were taken out from under him. Earlier, he broke wide open across the middle to catch Garoppolo’s first pass for a 12-yard gain, and a similar crossing route led to another 12-yard completion later.
DEFENSIVE END DEE FORD >> Unable to practice Wednesday and Thursday because of lingering knee pain, Ford looked healthy as he blasted off the right edge and sacked Rudolph on third-down for a 5-yard loss at the 41, taking the Steelers out of field-goal range just before halftime. Ford said of his knee “We’ll get it right. There’s a long season ahead.” CORNERBACK K’WAUN WILLIAMS >> His interception to open the second half was an easy one to make, thanks to a penetrating pass rush and then Armstead’s pressure on Rudolph.
Duds
CORNERBACK JASON VERRETT >> He made a rude introduction as a 49ers cornerback. Replacing the injured Ahkello Witherspoon (foot) in the fourth quarter, Verrett first tackled James Washington in the open field for a pass-interference penalty at the 49ers’ 39yard line, then Verrett allowed a go-ahead, 39-yard touchdown pass to Diontae Johnson on the next snap. WIDE RECEIVER RICHIE JAMES >> He botched what appeared to be an endaround, direct snap on third-and-goal from the 7. Shanahan blamed it on Garoppolo’s cadence. That fumble was the 49ers’ fifth turnover, their second in the red zone.