Two historic franchises that appear to be moving in opposite directions early in 2019 will meet in Week 3 as the San Francisco 49ers host the Pittsburgh Steelers. Kickoff is set for 4:25 EST on Sunday, September 22 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California. Fans in local markets can watch the game on CBS.
Oddsmakers list the 49ers as 6.5-point favorites at home with an over/under of 43.5 points. Be sure to check out a complete list of the Week 3 NFL betting odds.
The Steelers are facing one of the biggest uphill climbs in franchise history. After a blowout loss to the Patriots in Week 1, Pittsburgh lost at home to the Seahawks in Week 2 while also losing Ben Roethlisberger to a season-ending elbow injury. In place of Roethlisberger, Mason Rudolph threw two touchdown passes in the fourth quarter and nearly led a comeback win against the Seahawks. Alas, the comeback effort fell short and Pittsburgh has started the season 0-2 for the first time since 2013.
It’s now up to Rudolph to step in for Roethlisberger and the lead the Steelers out of the 0-2 hole they’ve dug for themselves. Pittsburgh’s schedule over the next few weeks isn’t exactly daunting. However, the longer they go without notching their first win, the longer their playoff odds become, making Sunday’s game a must-win for the Steelers.
Meanwhile, the 49ers have started the season 2-0, already halfway to their win total from last season. San Francisco’s defense has taken the lead early in the season, scoring two touchdowns in the season opener against the Bucs and allowing just 17 points in each of the team’s first two games. Of course, Jimmy Garoppolo also started to come alive during last week’s win over the Bengals, helping the 49ers put 41 points on the board.
The bad news is that the 49ers are in a division with two other teams that have started the year 2-0, including the defending NFC champion Rams. San Francisco knows there won’t be much margin for error if they want to take the NFC West away from Los Angeles. The good news is that the 49ers have two home games and a bye week leading up to a showdown with the Rams in Week 6, which could potentially be a game between two undefeated teams.
A trip to the west coast to play the 2-0 49ers probably isn’t what the Steelers need right now. Then again, it’s tough to know what would help Pittsburgh right now. Even before Roethlisberger got hurt, things weren’t going that well. It’s hard to see them bouncing back on the road, so I’ll eat the points and look for the 49ers to win by at least a touchdown and cover.
Garoppolo and the San Francisco offense got off to a sluggish start in Week 1. The 49ers definitely owe their defense for giving them that road win over the Bucs. But things looked a lot better last week. Rookie Deebo Samuel made a few nice plays, which is huge for San Francisco moving forward. If he and Marquise Goodwin can show a little consistency, the 49ers will have some genuine big-play threats to help complement tight end George Kittle. On top of that, the San Francisco rushing attack has looked good early in the year behind Matt Breida.
More importantly, the Pittsburgh defense has been just as culpable for the team’s poor start as the offense. The Steelers are getting burned on the ground, which makes me think Breida and Raheem Mostert will be a handful for them. The secondary hasn’t been much better. To be fair, the Steelers have faced Tom Brady and Russell Wilson the first two weeks. They also added Minkah Fitzpatrick in a trade. But Garoppolo has been well-protected early in the season, and if he has time in the pocket, he should be able to find the holes in Pittsburgh’s secondary.
If the 49ers are able to score points the way they did last week, it’ll put a lot of pressure on Rudolph, who doesn’t appear to have a great supporting cast around him. Running back James Conner has struggled to get going and is questionable to play on Sunday. There’s also no sign of Pittsburgh’s complementary receivers outside of tight end Vance McDonald. Right now, the 49ers only have to worry about McDonald and JuJu Smith-Schuster, as no one else in Pittsburgh’s offense is much of a threat.
It doesn’t hurt that San Francisco’s defense has looked great early in the year. In fairness, facing the Buccaneers and Bengals will help a lot of defenses look good. However, the 49ers defensive line could be among the best in the league. They have already totaled seven sacks with no help from the linebackers.
As much as the Steelers need this game, it has mismatch written all over it. Pittsburgh will need something special out of Rudolph, not to mention a lot of help from the defense, to give themselves a chance. I don’t think San Francisco’s 2-0 start is a fluke, and I like the 49ers to comfortably cover the spread against the Steelers.