Steelers vs. 49ers: 5 things to know about Pittsburgh's Week 1 matchup
By Cory Rogers
Steelers open the season at home for the first time since 2014
It's hard to believe that the NFL waited nearly a decade to provide the Steelers with a home game for their season opener, but it's true! The last time the Steelers opened a season at home was September 7, 2014, when the Killer B's struck down the Cleveland Browns, 30-27.
Ben Roethlisberger threw for 365 yards -- including a 35-yard touchdown strike to Antonio Brown (5 rec., 116 yards) -- and Le'Veon Bell had 197 yards of total offense (109 rushing, 88 receiving) and a score.
To put this in perspective, Cameron Heyward is the only remaining Steelers player from that game to still be on the roster. He's also one of only seven players on the current Steelers roster who was old enough to purchase a beer at the time of that 2014 season opener.
In fact, the last time the Steelers opened a season at home, the Apple Watch hadn't even hit store shelves yet (that came in 2015) and the Georgia alums on the current Steelers roster (George Pickens, Darnell Washington, and Broderick Jones) were barely 13 years old.
Mike Tomlin was there though. He's 3-1 in season-openers at home, while his counterpart, Kyle Shanahan of the 49ers, is 2-2 in season-openers on the road. The latter mark includes last season's 19-10 loss at Chicago.
The 49ers went 5-4 overall on the road last season, losing three of their first four away games and the NFC Championship game at Philadelphia. Meanwhile, the Steelers went 4-4 at Acrisure Stadium in 2022.
You can bet that Acrisure Stadium will be jammed-packed. According to StubHub, the season-opener between the Steelers and 49ers ranks fifth on their Top 10 list of most in-demand games for 2023. The Steelers' game at Las Vegas on September 24 is ranked first.