The 49ers are 2-0 heading into their first game at Levi’s Stadium this season. They’ll take on the 0-2 Pittsburgh Steelers in their second game against the AFC North in as many weeks.
Pittsburgh will be without quarterback Ben Rothlisberger due to an elbow injury, and Mason Randolph will make his first NFL start. Here are the three key matchups the 49ers must win to pull out a victory and move to 3-0 for the first time since 1998:
Justin Skule vs. Bud Dupree and Stephon Tuitt
With six-time Pro Bowl left tackle Joe Staley out with a broken left fibula, the rookie Skule will step into the starting role for Sunday against the Steelers. The rookie out of Vanderbilt was taken by the 49ers in the sixth round of this year’s NFL draft, and will be making his NFL starting debut.
His first start won’t be easy. Skule will be matched up against Dupree and Tuitt on the right side of the Steelers defensive front. Tuitt leads the Steelers in sacks this season with 2.5, all coming last week against the Seahawks. Dupree has one sack on the season, but he’s a very good pass rusher with two quarterback hits this season and 13 last season.
Pittsburgh has gotten to the quarterback pretty effectively this season with 5.0 sacks through two weeks. The 49ers offensive line has been excellent in protecting Jimmy Garoppolo, allowing just one sack and three hits on the quarterback. With Staley, the anchor of the offensive line, gone, Skule will need to keep the quarterback clean if the offense is going to move efficiently.
K’waun Williams vs. Juju Smith-Schuster
Williams had a tough start to the season at the nickel corner spot. He’s allowed six receptions on eight targets, and is allowing a quarterback rating of 142.2 on throws his direction. Last week in Cincinnati was one of his worst performances as a 49er. He blew a coverage on a 47-yard catch and run to Tyler Boyd, then gave up a touchdown later in the series.
This week Williams will see a slew of different players, including Pittsburgh’s top receiver, Juju Smith-Schuster. The receiver leads the Steelers in every receiving category except for touchdowns with 11 receptions on 16 targets for 162 yards, for an average of 14.7 yards per reception. Smith-Schuster had 111 of his 166 targets in 2018 come from the slot. He’s still primarily playing in the slot this season. In Week 1 against the Patriots, 69 percent his snaps came from the slot.
Smith-Schuster has become the No. 1 in Pittsburgh, and with Mason Rudolph making his first career start on Sunday, the receiver could see a significant amount of targets. It will be Williams’ job to limit Smith-Schuster and not allow any big gains to keep the Steelers offense moving.
Robert Saleh vs. Mason Rudolph
The second-year quarterback, Rudolph, will be starting in place of Ben Rothlisberger after the 37-year-old’s season ended last week against Seattle. Rudolph played well against the Seahawks in his NFL debut after Rothlisberger went down. He completed 12 of 19 throws for 112 yards with two touchdowns and an interception in the Steelers’ loss against Seattle.
The 49ers’ pass defense has been good this season. Saleh’s defense has allowed 232.5 yards per game, and has already picked off four passes compared to just one touchdown pass allowed, for a quarterback rating against of 69.7 – good for fourth-best in the league. The front seven has been able to create good pressure on the quarterback, sacking opposing quarterbacks seven times through two games.
Rudolph has the weapons on offense to succeed on Sunday. It’ll be up to Saleh to put together a game plan to confuse the young quarterback and keep constant pressure on him to force him into mistakes. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see San Francisco blitz more often Sunday.
