The Good, The Bad and The Ugly of Steelers embarrassing Week 1 loss vs. 49ers

The Bad: The Steelers Couldn't Cover Brandon Aiyuk

Levi Wallace had a day to forget, and Patrick Peterson didn't get that pick he forecasted. The Steelers can point to just how long the defense was on the field throughout the game, but that is just one of many excuses that isn't worth dwelling on.

The Steelers have a solid defense on paper. Truth be told, Pittsburgh did a solid job of containing Deebo Samuel and George Kittle. But they could not stop Brandon Aiyuk.

Prock Purdy had 220 passing yards and 129 went to Aiyuk on eight receptions. He scored both passing touchdowns from Purdy as well, the first wide-open on the 49ers' first drive and the second over Peterson in the shallow corner of the endzone.

It's understandable that someone would feast if the Steelers could corral Samuel and Kittle, but it's particularly problematic that nothing could be done to slow down the massively overlooked Aiyuk. A 1,000+ yard receiver in 2022, he's not a scrub.

Aiyuk is a strong route runner and he showed as much by consistently having considerable space on his targets.

The Steelers have a lot of turnover in the defensive backfield, so miscommunication is to be expected. Conversely, most teams don't employ the skill position firepower San Francisco has. Still, if Wallace and company are going to allow the number two receiver to have this much space to work, it's going to be a frustrating season for the Steelers defense.