In a game that was one-sided from the start, the San Francisco 49ers defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers by a score of 30-7 to open their 2023 season.
These were PFF’s standout players from the game.
Offensive spotlight: There were a handful of 49ers players who stood out, but we’ll focus on wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk.
This route by Brandon Aiyuk ????pic.twitter.com/hTzU3nhs8Y
— PFF Fantasy Football (@PFF_Fantasy) September 10, 2023
Aiyuk finished the game with an initial 92.5 receiving grade after catching all eight of his targets for 129 yards and two touchdowns. He also had a key block for a 65-yard touchdown run from running back Christian McCaffrey.
Quarterback Brock Purdy went 19-of-29 with 220 passing yards, two passing touchdowns and no interceptions in his first regular season game back from elbow surgery.
Defensive spotlight: There wasn’t much to write home about for the Steelers in this one, but if there was a lone spotlight, it was T.J. Watt.
WATTch out
????: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/T87FSng3KS pic.twitter.com/pJFbDhFICk
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) September 10, 2023
Watt finished the game with three sacks, two forced fumbles, one tackle for loss, one fumble recovery and five quarterback hits, pending reviews. Regardless of his team’s outcome, those numbers will put him in the early Defensive Player of the Year conversation.
Rookie spotlight: Steelers rookie defensive lineman Keeanu Benton played well in his NFL debut. He finished the game with three combined tackles, getting some extra playing time after Cam Heyward left the game with an injury.
Box Score
Passing
San Francisco 49ers |
|||||||||
| Player | Fantasy | Comp/Att | Yds | YPA | TD | Int | Long | Sacks | Rtg |
| Brock Purdy | 17.9 | 19 / 29 | 220 | 7.6 | 2 | 0 | 23 | 3 | 111.3 |
Pittsburgh Steelers |
|||||||||
| Player | Fantasy | Comp/Att | Yds | YPA | TD | Int | Long | Sacks | Rtg |
| Kenny Pickett | 11.68 | 31 / 46 | 232 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 31 | 5 | 68.4 |
Rushing
San Francisco 49ers |
|||||||
| Player | Fantasy | Car | Yds | YPC | TD | Long | Fum Lost |
| Christian McCaffrey | 28.9 | 22 | 152 | 6.9 | 1 | 65 | 0 |
| Brock Purdy | 17.9 | 3 | 21 | 7 | 0 | 18 | 1 |
| Deebo Samuel | 11.3 | 2 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| Elijah Mitchell | 1 | 5 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| Sam Darnold | -0.2 | 2 | -2 | -1 | 0 | -1 | 0 |
Pittsburgh Steelers |
|||||||
| Player | Fantasy | Car | Yds | YPC | TD | Long | Fum Lost |
| Kenny Pickett | 11.68 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| Jaylen Warren | 6.8 | 3 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Najee Harris | 5.3 | 6 | 31 | 5.2 | 0 | 24 | 0 |
Receiving
San Francisco 49ers |
||||||||
| Player | Fantasy | Tgt | Rec | Yds | YPT | YPR | TD | Long |
| Brandon Aiyuk | 35.9 | 8 | 8 | 129 | 16.1 | 16.1 | 2 | 23 |
| Christian McCaffrey | 28.9 | 5 | 3 | 17 | 3.4 | 5.7 | 0 | 7 |
| Deebo Samuel | 11.3 | 7 | 5 | 55 | 7.9 | 11 | 0 | 22 |
| George Kittle | 4.9 | 6 | 3 | 19 | 3.2 | 6.3 | 0 | 11 |
| Elijah Mitchell | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jauan Jennings | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Pittsburgh Steelers |
||||||||
| Player | Fantasy | Tgt | Rec | Yds | YPT | YPR | TD | Long |
| Allen Robinson II | 11.4 | 8 | 5 | 64 | 8 | 12.8 | 0 | 31 |
| Calvin Austin III | 9.7 | 6 | 6 | 37 | 6.2 | 6.2 | 0 | 13 |
| George Pickens | 8.6 | 7 | 5 | 36 | 5.1 | 7.2 | 0 | 9 |
| Diontae Johnson | 7.8 | 6 | 3 | 48 | 8 | 16 | 0 | 26 |
| Pat Freiermuth | 7.3 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0.8 | 3 | 1 | 3 |
| Jaylen Warren | 6.8 | 6 | 5 | 12 | 2 | 2.4 | 0 | 9 |
| Najee Harris | 5.3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| Connor Heyward | 3.9 | 4 | 2 | 19 | 4.8 | 9.5 | 0 | 11 |
| Anthony McFarland Jr. | 3.1 | 2 | 2 | 11 | 5.5 | 5.5 | 0 | 6 |
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