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

The Ugly: The Steelers Poor Time of Possession

See also: Steelers couldn't establish the run, Kenny Pickett's poor ball placement, Steelers offensive line was inconsistent. All of those failures created the ultimate failure in the Steelers' lack of offensive possession.

The Steelers played horrendous football in the first half. While there was some improvement, it was never enough to truly get the Steelers back in the game.

The Steelers came out throwing, as would be expected. The 49ers' weakness is in the defensive backfield and quick throws should work against them. But the Steelers having just 41 rushing yards on 10 attempts is wholly unacceptable, especially when 25 of that came on one rush by Najee Harris.

When a team gets down early, they're forced to be one-dimensional. Naturally, the more times a quarterback puts the ball in the air, the higher the odds things can go south with quickness.

The 49ers front seven, particularly Fred Warner, controlled the football game. They took away underneath throws, swarmed Pickett with pressure, and stuffed every Steelers rushing attempt save one.

Again, the 49ers are elite in the areas that matter most. It's why they're one of the four or five best teams in the entire league. But if the Steelers are to be a playoff team in 2023, it can't be excusable to struggle so massively in its offensive efforts.