Sep 08, 2023
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The San Francisco 49ers and the Pittsburgh Steelers will meet on Sunday, 10 September for one of the Week 1 opening games in the 2023 regular season. The NFL point spread is SF -2 and the total is 41.5.
What does the preseason say?
Both teams are coming off an eventful preseason. The 49ers ended their preseason with a 1-2 record while the Steelers, on the other hand, managed a successful 3-0 run. Both sides seem quite prepared to take on the challenges of the regular season.
San Francisco 49ers
The 49ers had quite an average preseason. They started off with a game against the Las Vegas Raiders that ended with a terrible 34-7 defeat. It wasn’t the best start but there were two more games to go. Game two against the Denver Broncos was a 21-20 win for the 49ers and just the glimpse of hope they needed to fight further. Ronnie Bell did an exceptional job leading them towards victory. Their third and final game against the Los Angeles Chargers didn’t go so well and the team took a step backwards. They gave up points in every quarter and ended the preseason with a harsh 23-12 loss. Quarterback Sam Darnold did a lot of the work for the team, after he was able to beat out Trey Lance as the backup. A few other promising players for the 2023 season include Brandon Aiyuk and Tyrion Davis-Price. Still, pre-season isn’t a great judge on how a team is really put together as you see the starters for just a fraction of the time.
The 49ers have all the potential to win their Week 1 game and they will try their best to make that happen.
Pittsburgh Steelers
On the other side, the Steelers seem more than ready for the regular season after completely taking over the preseason. Head coach Mike Tomlin has done a great job at keeping the players at the top of their game so far. They not only managed a 27-17 win against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers but also defeated the Buffalo Bills 27-15. Both quarterbacks Mason Rudolph and Mitch Trubisky did an excellent job on the field having full control over the game at all times. The third game was just as successful as the other two, if not more. A 24-0 win against the Atlanta Falcons is how they ended their preseason. Kenny Pickett had quite a promising performance along with wide receiver George Pickens and running back Anthony McFarland Jr.
The Steelers came here to win and that is exactly what they are doing and will continue to do for the rest of the season.
What to expect in Week 1?
This is the first time since the 2019 season that the 49ers and the Steelers will go face to face and it will be a showdown not to miss. Both teams have very similar trends in the past and both are going into the 2023 season with second year quarterbacks leading the team. Fans are eager to see which side can do better at moving ahead.
The over-under suggests a slog-fest and that may very well be the case. In the end, we think that the 49ers are just more talented than the Steelers and this Pittsburgh team may very well finish below .500 at the end of the season. Take the Niners.